The 28th Plenary Session at the Foreign Investors’ Council chaired by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (further – the FIC) dedicated to the theme “Development of agribusiness in Kazakhstan” was held on June 4th, 2015 at the Independence Palace.
The Plenary Session was opened by the speech of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Main speakers on the topic of the 28th Plenary Session and on the implementation of the instructions of the 27th Plenary Session were Asset Issekeshev, Minister of Investments and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan from the Kazakh side and Sir Suma Chakrabarti, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from foreign side.
In addition, Ulf Wokurka, Chairman of the Governing Board of the "Kazakhstan Foreign Investors' Council” Association and Assylzhan Mamytbekov, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan reported on the recommendations to the FIC.
The Plenary Session of the FIC was also attended by Erik Scheer, Member of the Executive Committee/Deputy CEO, "Baker & McKenzie International"; Nicolas Denis, Senior Vice President, Agricultural Labor Practices and Leaf, "Philip Morris International"; James Cowles, Chief Executive Officer, "Citigroup" in Europe, Middle East and Africa; Carmine Di Sibio, Global Managing Partner – Client Service, EY; Peter Tils, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Central and Eastern Europe, Deutsche Bank AG, Co-chairman of the Kazakh-German Business Council; Ian Colebourne, Managing Partner, Deloitte CIS; Siegfried Wolf, Chairman of Russian Machines Corporation.
Since the establishment of the FIC, 28 Plenary Sessions chaired by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan were held where the following range of issues was discussed: education and human capital development, the issues of electric power sector development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, modernization and renovation of enterprises of Kazakhstan etc.
Agenda included a report on the implementation of the Protocol instructions of the 27th Plenary Session of the FIC; recommendations of the FIC working groups on investment policy implementation to improve investment climate in the Republic of Kazakhstan, foreign investors‘ assistance in industrial-innovative development of the RK, foreign investors’ operating activities, development of agribusiness in Kazakhstan.
On the results of the Plenary Session, the official Protocol will be provided in which the Head of State will give specific instructions to the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. These instructions will be executed within the next reporting period by the 29th Plenary Session of the FIC which will be held the next year.
The Foreign Investors’ Council (FIC) chaired by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan is an advisory body established by the Order of the Head of State in 1998, to promote direct dialogue between the Government of Kazakhstan and foreign investors in order to efficiently address key issues related to their investment activities in the country, to improve the investment climate of Kazakhstan for the benefit of foreign investors, local and national companies, the economic development and wealth of the country and its people.
The main objectives of the Foreign Investors’ Council include developing and providing recommendations to the President and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on key investment and economic development issues and analyzing and discussing other core investment policy issues upon the instruction of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Currently there are 35 heads of foreign and international organizations in the Council.