President Kassym Jomart-Tokayev participated in a roundtable meeting with representatives of the Saudi Arabian business community, Qazmonitor reports citing the press service of Akorda.
"The Saudi Vision-2030 program and our Kazakhstan-2050 Strategy aim at achieving national progress through economic diversification, reducing dependence on raw materials, investing in human capital and, ultimately, joining the group of the most developed countries," the president said.
He went on to talk in detail about Kazakhstan's economic successes.
"Over the years of independence, Kazakhstan's GDP has shown a 17-fold growth. Today, Kazakhstan's economy exceeds the aggregate volume of the economies of all other Central Asian countries. Kazakhstan accounts for almost 60% of trade turnover in Central Asia. International reserves of our country amount to $90 billion and are the highest per capita in the CIS. Foreign investors have invested more than $380 billion in our economy. This accounted for 70% of the total inflow of investments in the Central Asian Region", Tokayev emphasized.
In this regard, the most promising areas of expansion of cooperation were outlined in the speech.
"According to our analysis, Kazakhstan can offer more than 100 types of non-resource goods worth about $400 million a year in such sectors as mechanical engineering, iron and steel production, as well as food processing and agriculture."
President Tokayev considers the diversification and expansion of transit-transport and logistics opportunities, including the Trans-Caspian route, connecting China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, to be the second important direction. He believes that great potential for cooperation also lies in the real sector of the economy.
"Kazakhstan ranks first in the world in deposits of tungsten, second in deposits of uranium and chromium, and we are among the top five countries richest in manganese, silver, zinc and lead. These reserves are to be explored and developed. Given our proximity to the rapidly developing markets of China and South Asia, this is really a great investment opportunity. Today we can offer more than 60 deposits of precious and non-ferrous metals for exploration and development," said Tokayev.
Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia have plans to develop petrochemicals, nuclear power, green hydrogen production, and other areas, including space exploration.
"We welcome the Kingdom's intention to develop its own space program as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 strategy. Our countries have an appropriate legal framework for cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes. Kazakhstan has great experience and resources for the development of the aerospace industry. Our companies are ready to cooperate with public and private companies of Saudi Arabia in these areas."
The President also elaborated on the potential of the domestic agricultural sector.
"Kazakhstan ranks second in the world in terms of arable land per capita and fifth in terms of pasture resources (180 million hectares). Our country is among the 10 largest producers of wheat and flour. We are ready to become one of the stable, long-term suppliers of high-quality wheat, flour, and oilseeds to the Kingdom."
Along with this, the President emphasized that Kazakhstan has created a modern institutional environment for investors.
"I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm Kazakhstan's commitment to strengthening and expanding bilateral cooperation with Saudi Arabia. The leaders of major Saudi companies that have achieved significant successes around the world are here today. I invite you all to Kazakhstan to work together on a mutually beneficial basis," summarized the President of Kazakhstan.