Kazakh PM Smailov continues series of meetings with businessmen

ASTANA. KAZINFORM – Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov continued his meetings with representatives of medium-sized businesses of the country. Today’s meeting discussed the current issues facing entrepreneurs from Almaty, Turkestan, Zhambyl, and Zhetysu regions, Kazinform cites Ukimet.

Opening the meeting, Smailov stressed that the government aims at building a diversified economy based om developed entrepreneurship, with medium-sized business as one of the main locomotives.

«Business activity in the southern region is very high, and they are leaders in some indicators. Traditionally, agriculture, food and light industry are well-developed in these regions,» he said.

As part of the meeting, the ongoing projects of small-medium businesses and plans to launch new enterprises were presented.

According to the Prime minister, all-round support of entrepreneurs is the key priority in the work of the Government. Last year, the number of SMEs rose by 27%, and the number of people employed in the sphere rose by 18% to 4.1mln. In general, the share of SMEs in the GDP grew to up to 36.5%.

He went on to note that Kazakhstan’s economic growth accelerated to 4.8%.

«Our goal is an economic leap from seven to 10% growth, requiring affordable loans from banks and resolution of the pressing issues entrepreneurs raise,» said Smailov.