Visit to Karaganda: President discusses country’s industrial & innovative devpt
Opening the event, the Head of State underlined that Kazakhstan needed a strong, technologically advanced industry capable of successfully competing in the global and, in particular, regional markets.
«We are witnessing the increasing competition amid the deteriorating global situation, the escalation of trade wars and, on the whole, global contradictions. The world, as we see, does not stand still. Therefore, we need to keep up with the times,» said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The President said that the meeting of representatives of government bodies and businesses is aimed at discussing the issues which should be tackled for the successful implementation of structural changes in the economy.
The Head of State summarized the work done: «Over the years of industrialization, 1,250 new industrial enterprises with investments exceeding 8 trillion tenges have been set up. 120,000 new jobs have been created. The production of more than 500 new types of commodities not previously manufactured in Kazakhstan has been established. »
Alongside this, according to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, there are no drastic changes in the structure of the economy. For instance, for more than a decade, the share of process manufacturing in GDP has moved in the region of 11 percent. From 2015 through 2018, labor productivity growth reached only 4% while the target was 12%.
In this regard, the President outlined a number of tasks to be fulfilled by the Government and akimats (local executive bodies).
The first area is the active development of finished product exports. As was noted in his speech, over the past three years, the share of the process manufacturing sector in the total structure of exports has decreased by 8% - from 34% in 2016 to 26% in 2018. Kazakhstan exports around 180 types of process manufacturing goods, whereas 358 types are exported by Russia, 690 by Belarus, 1,400 by China, and an average of 1,950 by the OECD countries.
The Head of State proposed a number of effective measures which will stimulate domestic producers to enter foreign markets. According to him, it is necessary to analyze the promising export markets, get an insight into the customs tax, tariff and other requirements for entering these markets, and designate effective transport and logistics solutions.
Another crucial area that requires consideration is high-quality marketing.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized that the order to create the country’s common national brand, and, based on it, investment, tourism, and industry brands, has not yet been accomplished. According to the President, the situation regarding creating umbrella brands for domestic products is the same.
The Head of State gave the Government two months to complete the work on making up brands.
The second area is the development of the «economy of simple things.»
«We have many plants manufacturing goods we can be proud of,» Kassym-Jomart Tokayev holds.
Alongside this, 600 billion tenge of target liquidity allocated to support domestic producers failed to reach its destination due to bureaucratic problems. «As I was informed, only 148 projects totaling KZT 62.3 billion were approved as of August 16,» the President said.
The Head of State criticized the situation regarding government-regulated procurement.
«Their volume exceeds KZT 10 trillion every year. Nonetheless, the share of Kazakhstani content is 34 percent. It won't do. We can do much more,» the President said.
His speech also comprised a detailed analysis of the investment situation.
The President also elaborated on the prospects for the growth of high-value manufacturing, the development of Industry 4.0 elements and innovations, and the improvement of the effectiveness of the industrialization support tools.
«Building a new economy should be based on the innovative, scientific and technological development of primary industries, as well as the development of industries of the Economy of the Future,» the Head of State maintains.
The following persons addressed the meeting: Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Roman Sklyar, Chairman of the Management Board of Samruk-Kazyna Fund Akhmetzhan Yessimov, Chairman of the Management Board of Eurasian Foods JSC Oleg Vinokurov, Chairman of the Light Industry Committee under the Regional Council of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Karaganda region Andrei Shmarin, General Director of AZALA Cotton LLP Baurzhan Jamalov, General Director of Zerde Research and Production Association LLP Mukhtar Bitemirov, General Director of Almaty Ventilation Plant LLP Marat Bakkulov, and General Director of Kazenergokabel JSC Vladimir Bobrov. Deputy Prime Minister Zhenis Kassymbek and Minister of Trade and Integration Bakhyt Sultanov also participated in the discussion.
The remarks of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the attendees’ proposals made at the meeting will be taken into account when finalizing the draft of the third five-year plan of industrialization.