The meeting was attended by representatives of major Korean companies.
The Head of State stressed that the Republic of Korea is one of the key partners of Kazakhstan in East Asia; the total inflow of investment from the country since independence has reached about 9 billion dollars.
The President of Kazakhstan noted the decline of bilateral trade volume in 2015, caused by a number of external factors and objective reasons.
- Under these circumstances, it is important to give new impetus to the development of our economic cooperation. Promising areas of cooperation are energy, agriculture, engineering, construction, finance and investment, logistics and transport system, Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
As pointed out by the President of Kazakhstan, in our country there are 465 joint ventures with the South Korean capital city, and during the last three years 14 investment projects worth over 160 million dollars have been implemented.
The Head of State focused on structural reforms and measures on the economic diversification, which are held in Kazakhstan for the expansion of the existing significant potential of mutually beneficial cooperation.
- In particular, the investment climate and business environment are gradually on the rise, and the state program of industrial-innovative development is fulfilling itself. Investors in the priority-oriented sectors are given tax breaks, and there are special measures to support small and medium-sized businesses, Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
The President of Kazakhstan emphasized that stability is guaranteed by law in the country in respect of tax rates and employment legislation.
- For the citizens of our countries a visa-free regime has been introduced and direct flights were opened, Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
Kazakhstan’s President offered the Korean companies a platform for the purposes of projects in the special economic and industrial zones on the territory of Kazakhstan, as well as these areas control capabilities.
In addition, the President invited the Korean companies to actively participate in the process of mass privatization of state enterprises in Kazakhstan, in the forthcoming international trade show "EXPO-2017: Future Energy" and in the work of "Astana" International Financial Centre.
- We are ready for partnership with Korean companies in all economic sectors. I hope that today's meeting will mark the opportunities and prospects of mutually advantageous cooperation between business communities of our countries, Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
The Head of State said that during his visit the fruitful talks with the President of South Korea were held, during which they discussed new opportunities to expand business cooperation, among them is the development of Kazakhstan's transport infrastructure and the prospects of the EAEC market entry.
- We talked about the ways of creating a free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union. Kazakhstan, which the current year chairs the EAEC, welcomes the willingness of Korea enter into that area; it would be good for all of us, and we will promote that idea, the President of Kazakhstan said.
