Online conference reviews 30years of Kazakhstan’s Independence, economic coop with Canada

OTTAWA. KAZINFORM - The Kazakhstan-Canadian online conference was held as part of a series of events dedicated to the 30th Anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The event reviewed Kazakhstan’s achievements over the years of independence and the development of economic relations between the countries, Kazinform has learnt from the press service of the Kazakh MFA.

In his opening remarks Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Canada Akylbek Kamaldinov highlighted the country’s main achievements over the past years and the course of the implementation of the new reforms initiated by Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. He underlined that Canada was an important trade and economic partner of his country and an essential source of foreign investments into the Kazakh economy.

Ambassador of Canada to Kazakhstan Nicolas Brousseau stressed in his welcoming speech that «owing to the vision and confident actions of the First President Nursultan Nazarbayev, over the years of independence Kazakhstan has become the most prosperous and dynamically developing country in Central Asia, becoming a regional leader and a global player.»

Former Ambassador of Canada to Kazakhstan Margaret Skok shared her memories of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations in 1992 and of the activities of the first Canadian companies in the mining sector, agriculture, energy, education, etc., which began their presence in Kazakhstan at the dawn of its independence.

Director of the Institute of World Economy and Politics (IWEP) under the Nursultan Nazarbayev Foundation Yerzhan Saltybayev presented a thorough review of the history of the economic strengthening of Kazakhstan as an independent state and the formation of a unique model of the country's foreign policy.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of «BAZIS» Company (Kazakhstan) Alexander Belovich spoke about the cooperation experience with Canada in the construction sector since 1993, including the transfer of construction technologies and the implementation of joint infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan.

The conference participants were also addressed by the heads of Canadian companies that have been operating in Kazakhstan for over 20 years and have invested hundreds of millions of US dollars in the country's economy. Among them, President of the Cameco uranium company, Co-Chair of the Kazakhstan-Canada Business Council, Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan in the province of Saskatchewan, member of the Foreign Investors Council under the President of Kazakhstan Tim Gitzel, Managing Director of the Condor Petroleum Norman Storm, CEO of Ex-Im Trading David Barker and CEO of AGI-CDCS Kazakhstan Mark Findley. The discussions were moderated by Director General and Chairman of the Board of Al Hilal Bank Kazakhstan Gordon Haskins.

The event was initiated by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Canada and arranged in cooperation with the Canada Eurasia Russia Business Association (CERBA).