On July 4, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed to create a joint investment fund during his speech at the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), QazMonitor reports citing Akorda.
The president emphasized that the organization benefits from the geographic connectivity of its member states, transit and transport capabilities, a vast market, and economic complementarity.
"However, we must acknowledge that despite more than 20 years of existence, not a single large-scale economic project has been implemented under the SCO banner. A significant contributing factor is the lack of mechanisms for providing financial support to project activities. In this regard, I propose instructing the Council of Heads of Government to explore the feasibility of establishing a joint Investment Fund and present proposals on this important initiative," said Tokayev.
To achieve this goal, he suggested establishing a joint investment fund based on the Astana International Financial Center, which could serve as an effective platform for promoting direct and portfolio investments in regional SCO projects.