WEEKLY REVIEW: Kazakhstan reduced energy intensity of GDP and identified priorities of industrial development
Monday, June 9, the first meeting of the Youth Council under the Ministry of Health took place in Astana. It was attended by leaders of the Zhas Otan youth wing, Youth Congress of Kazakhstan, Zhassyl Yel, reps of student's councils of medical universities and healthy lifestyle centre. Tuesday, June 10, Regional Development Minister Bolat Zhamishev said that Government of Kazakhstan was planning to optimize six of existing sectoral programs. In his words, six of the existing sectoral programs will be tacked together into two program documents: the Business Roadmap-2020 that covers all instruments for business support and the draft program of Regions Development for 2020 that includes the Affordable Housing-2020, the Housing and Public Utilities Modernization, the Ak-Bulak and the Single-Industry Cities Development programs. Wednesday, June 11, Foreign Minister Yerlan Idrissov was handed over the flag of the International Exhibitions Bureau. Official recognition of EXPO-2017 and handing of the BIE flag have been held at the 155th session of the General Assembly of the International Exhibitions Bureau. Thursday, June 12, the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Industry and New Technologies Asset Issekeshev, speaking at the 27th plenary meeting of the Foreign Investors Council under the President of Kazakhstan, said that the Government has identified priority areas for further industrial development in six industries. Speaking at the meeting of the Foreign Investors Council attended by the President of Kazakhstan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Industry and New Technologies Asset Issekeshev informed of the main sectors that the second five-year stage of the accelerated industrialization program would be focused on. According to him, these are production of food, engineering sector, production of cars and spare parts, railway engineering, production of electro-technical and electric equipment, equipment for the ore-mining industry, oil and gas industry, non-ferrous and iron and steel industries, oil refining and petrochemical industries, agrochemistry and industrial chemicals, construction materials. As stressed A.Issekeshev, the Government intends to focus on the development of public-private partnerships and attract private investment. President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has urged the Government to up the ante in construction expertise and introduce the Eurocodes system in the country by 2015. The Head of State also instructed to review the system of intellectual property protection and start using the OECD standards in that sphere. Friday, June 13, at the International Mining and Metallurgical Congress in Astana, chairman of the Committee on Geology and Subsoil Use under the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies Bazarbay Nurabayev reported that the project on creation of Kazakhstan geological cluster will be implemented under the auspices of the Nazarbayev University. The cluster will include the School of Mining, Institute of Earth Sciences and the Center for geological research.