In London (the UK), the IV meeting of the Kazakh-British Intergovernmental Commission for trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation and the II meeting of the Kazakh-British Business Council took place.

The delegation of Kazakhstan was headed by the Minister for Investments and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Zhenis Kassymbek. The forum was also attended by representatives of central and local government bodies, Kazakh Invest NC, as well as domestic entrepreneurs.

Political and public figures, diplomats, experts, heads of such large companies as Severn Glocon Group, which produces a wide range of valves and related services for the whole spectrum of energy industries, Borkit SG JV, working in the oil and gas and energy sectors, Metalysis, introducing the production of metal additives in the industry of high specifications, Intellisense.io, UK Export Finance, etc., gathered at the site of the forum from the British side.

The Minister for Investments and Development, Zhenis Kassymbek, in his welcoming speech expressed his gratitude to the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Samruk-Kazyna SWF for organizing and hosting the Kazakh-British Business Council, which helps bringing together the business circles of the two countries.

Zhenis Makhmudovich noted that in 2016, a huge work was carried out to diversify the economy. Last year, ore extraction increased by 2.9% to 28.3 million tonnes, steel production increased by 9.2% to 4.3 million tonnes, chemical production increased by 22% to more than $3.1 million.

In 2017, Kazakh-British cooperation shows positive dynamics: for 9 months export from Kazakhstan to Great Britain grew by 8.2% and amounted to $720 million.

It should be noted that Great Britain is one of the six largest investors in Kazakhstan. Over the past 12 years, the inflow of direct investment into Kazakhstan has exceeded $12 billion. There are over 500 joint ventures with the participation of British capital in the country.

To date, Kazakhstan is interested in the United Kingdom's experience in urban technologies, in particular, the creation of OpenBIM standards. Work with British specialists is built on the introduction of the BIM standards in the construction industry, including 6D and 7D levels. The main result will be a reduction in the timing of the implementation of projects, the cost of construction, operating costs, time for the development of estimates, waste and marriage and digitalization of the construction cycle.

The concept of the "Digital Industry Incubator" is being developed for the implementation of the Industry 4.0 elements. The creation of laboratories is planned for 2018.

Also, meetings of the two working groups on oil and gas and subsoil use were held, during which the urgent issues and prospects for further expansion of cooperation were discussed.

In addition, during the Forum, the Minister for Investments and Development Zhenis Kassymbek and the Chairman of the Board of Kazakh Invest NC, Saparbek Tuyakbayev held a number of B2B meetings with companies such as: IntelliSense.Io - developing technologies that significantly improve the productivity, efficiency of enterprises, processes in a certain sphere; Metalysis - the introduction of the metal additives production in the industry of high specifications, Shell; United Green - a private strategic investment group; Wood Group, which provides engineering and technical services to energy and industrial markets; J Rothschild Capital Management; Independent Power Corporation - an independent energy corporation.

For reference: Kazakh Invest is a national agency for attracting investment in Kazakhstan and provides a full range of services for supporting investment projects from idea to implementation on the principle of "Single Window". Acts as a single coordinating center for special economic zones and a single negotiator representing the interests of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan when discussing the prospects and conditions for the implementation of investment projects. Has a network of its representatives abroad. It is the national operator of the system of development and promotion of non-primary exports.