Astana. March 4. KazTAG - President of Kazakhstan Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev took part in the 14th summit of the Organization of Economic Cooperation, Akord reports.
"Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Iran Khasan Rukhani, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zaparov, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirzieev, General Secretary of the Organization of Economic Cooperation Hadi Suleimnapur, "said in a report on Thursday.
As it is specified, at the beginning of its speech, Tokayev expressed gratitude to the brotherly Turkish people and the President of Turkey Recep Tayypu Erdogan for the help provided by our country in the fight against the pandemic. As the head of state noted, in the current difficult time, our countries again were convinced of how important mutual assistance and support at the global level.
The focus was on the speech to overcome the negative economic consequences of the pandemic.
"Thanks to the implementation of a comprehensive anti-crisis plan provided by financial resources, Kazakhstan was able to minimize the negative impact of the pandemic and even achieved growth in such areas as construction, agriculture and production. This year we expect GDP growth by more than 3%, "said the President of Kazakhstan.
The head of state called collaboration with the OES with one of the priorities of Kazakhstan's foreign policy. In his opinion, large infrastructure and social projects should be the basis of cooperation within the framework of the Organization. One of the most promising projects is seen by the Trans-Caspian international transport route, which is formed in conjunction with China. In particular, in November 2019, a container train was launched along the Xi'an-Istanbul-Prague route, which connected Kazakhstan, China, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. In April last year, the first container composition was held along the Xian - Izmir route. He overcame the distance of about 7,000 km in 16 days.
"These are good examples of our interaction. However, we still have a lot to do to ensure sustainable progress. This year, we need to ensure the full capacity of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway route. Other new routes are being worked out. It is expected that the high-speed railway from Turkestan to Tashkent will increase the tourist potential of both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, will reduce the time on the way to two hours and facilitates the relationship between businessmen and social contacts of our countries, "Tokayev said.
The speech also provided information about the participation of Kazakhstan in infrastructure projects in Afghanistan. Together with the Russian and Uzbek partners, our country participates in the construction of Railways Mazar-Sharif - Quetta and Mazar-Sharif - Peshawar. The growth of bilateral trade with Afghanistan last year amounted to 55%.
Another important priority for our region is food security. The President stressed that Kazakhstan supports all ECO initiatives in the field of agriculture, and called on Member States to join the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS), whose headquarters is located in Nur Sultan.
"We work to create a national network of wholesale distribution and logistics centers. Food safety and accessibility is a common problem, so we believe that the combination of our efforts to create effective logistics has great potential. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are created by the International Center for Trade and Economic Cooperation at the Border, "the head of state emphasized.
Tokayev also stopped at the potential of the tourism sphere, which, despite the pandemic, remains one of the promising areas of cooperation.
"Kazakhstan intends to bring the share of the tourist industry to 8% of GDP by 2025. We are actively developing the sacred for the countries of Central Asia and the Turkish world of Turkestan. Only in 2020, internal investments in urban infrastructure, tourism and logistics in Turkestan amounted to about $ 1 billion. Turkestan entered the top 10 tourist destinations of Kazakhstan, which can become attractive for investors and tourists from your countries, "said the president.
As the head of state emphasized, health care can also be the "center of attraction" of foreign investment in Kazakhstan. Competitive tariffs, highly qualified labor and many public-private partnership opportunities attracted Turkish companies that participate in the construction of new hospitals in Kazakhstan and equipped with their high-tech medical equipment.
"Turkish Rönesans Holding begins to build its clinics in seven cities of Kazakhstan. We also welcome Orhun Medical, which, together with the Kazakh National Institute of Oncology and Radiology, plans to introduce the center of tomotherapy this year in Almaty. I am confident that cooperation with Turkish companies will continue. We also intend to invite partners from other participating countries to invest in Kazakhstan's health care system, "said Kasim-Zhomart Tokayev.
The President expressed a number of proposals to improve the efficiency of organizing economic cooperation. According to him, Kazakhstan, as chairman of the meeting on interaction and confidence in Asia, is ready to assist in the development of cooperation between the OES and CICA in the field of economics. The interaction between these structures is most promising in the spheres of transport and logistics, agriculture, finance, energy, tourism, digital technologies and others.
"We hope that comprehensive cooperation, based on the mutual interest and practical implementation of joint projects, will allow us to resist the challenges of today and prepare us for the possibilities of tomorrow. We impose great hopes on the organization, "the head of state summed up.
In conclusion, Tokayev wished Turkmenistan a successful chairmanship in organizing economic cooperation.