EXPO Astana 2017
GOOD PROSPECTS
TADEUSZ KOŚCIŃSKI, Deputy Minister of Economic Development
K
azakhstan is an important economic partner for Poland in Central Asia. The first quarter of 2017 saw an increase in trade between the two countries. Its value in the first five months of the year was USD487.6 million against USD245 million a year earlier. Polish exports to Kazakhstan were worth USD162.2 million. The balance of trade is negative, because of the high value of the mineral raw materials Poland imports from Kazakhstan. However, the stabilization of oil prices allows us to predict that the pace of Kazakhstan’s economic growth will accelerate in coming years, which creates conditions for a gradual restoration of Polish exports to their former level within two or three years. Agriculture and agri-food processing, the production of construction materials and machines, the mining and power sector, financial services, the pharmaceutical industry, the production of rail vehicles, the chemical industry and the automotive sector are considered to be promising areas of cooperation between Poland and Kazakhstan. Around 190 Polish-owned businesses are registered in Kazakhstan. The most important area of their operation is the oil and gas sector, including prospecting for and developing oil and gas deposits, and the pharmaceutical industry. The Polish companies are also present in the power, rail infrastructure, construction materials and medical equipment sectors. One of the ways to stimulate economic relations is to develop investment cooperation. At present, Kazakhstan is introducing solutions designed to encourage foreign companies to invest in the country. Among these solutions are special financial and economic zones, like for example the Astana International Financial Centre, where economic activity can be conducted on preferential customs and taxation terms. From the perspective of investors, there are favourable changes to
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regulations on the employment of foreigners. Foreign firms have also gained equal access to public tenders. Additionally, a programme for privatizing the largest state-run enterprises was launched in 2016. The Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and Kazakhstan offers a chance for the development of economic relations between the EU, including Poland, and Kazakhstan. The objective of the agreement is to strengthen trade and political ties between the two sides. The concept of the New Silk Road may also contribute to boosting economic relations. This huge project involves more than 60 countries inhabited by over 4.5 billion people. Kazakhstan plays an important role in the Belt and Road initiative because the country is crossed by the shortest rail connection from China to Poland and further to Western Europe. We would like to benefit from our strategic location on the New Silk Road in two ways-by giving our businesses an opportunity to carry out infrastructure projects along the Belt and Road route, using actively our membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and by attracting Chinese investment to Poland. We are now considering the participation of Chinese corporations in some large infrastructure projects on condition of equal benefits and full control on our side. An excellent opportunity for establishing new economic relations is the Polish-Kazakh Economic Forum, which will be held again in Astana on September 6 and will be an important part of Poland’s presence at Astana Expo 2017. Representatives of business environment institutions, institutions interested in the development of cooperation with Kazakh partners, and business people have been invited to take part • in the Forum.