Kazakhstan exports more than imports in 2016

Timesca.com, 30 December 2016

Kazakhstan’s foreign trade turnover in 2016 is expected to amount to US $58 billion, Sputnik news agency reported with reference to Meirzhan Maikenov, deputy chairman of the national investment and export promotion agency KAZNEX INVEST. “As a result of 2016, Kazakhstan’s foreign trade would total $58 billion,” Maikenov told a news conference  on  December  28,  with  Kazakhstan’s  export  amounting  to  $35  billion  and  import amounting to $23 billion. “There  is  a  positive  balance:  we  are  exporting  more  than  importing,”  the  official  said.  He  also emphasized that processed products have accounted for 35 percent of the total exports, which, in his opinion, testifies to improving the country’s export basket. Last year, Kazakhstan’s foreign trade amounted to $60.7 billion, with the export at $41.2 billion and import at $19.5 billion. Kazakhstan exported its products to 117 countries. In Maikeyev’s words, Kazakhstan exports raw materials mainly to non-CIS countries and processed products are exported to CIS countries, the Caucasus, China, and Iran.   

Crude oil and metals remain the main export items of Kazakhstan, and the country’s export revenues have declined due to lower oil and commodity prices. The government of Kazakhstan has been pursuing a policy of increased domestic production and import substitution, including for food products. Deputy  Agriculture  Minister  Gulmira  Isayeva  said  earlier  this  year  that  domestic  producers  now meet 95 percent of the Kazakh population’s needs for basic food products.

 http://www.timesca.com/index.php/news/17505-kazakhstan-exports-more-than-imports-in-2016

Kazakhstan's new measure to boost tourism, investment

Presstv.ir, 3 January 2017 

Kazakhstan has lifted visa requirements for citizens of the European Union, OECD countries and a number of other states as part of efforts to boost investment and tourism. The  measure  adopted  earlier  by  neighboring  Uzbekistan  comes  as  Kazakhstan  as  Central  Asia's largest economy has been battered by low oil prices and financial distress in neighboring Russia.

According to Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry, since the beginning of 2017, citizens of EU and OECD countries, as well as Malaysia, Monaco, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, could travel to Kazakhstan for up to 30 days without a visa. In  a  statement,  the  ministry  said  the  initiative  was  meant  to  "promote  an  even  more  favorable investment climate" and "develop the country's tourism potential." "The move will open up additional opportunities to the business community for cooperation with the outside world and facilitate international contacts in different spheres," the statement said. Kazakhstan's landscape is dotted with mountains, lakes and desert, and the glitzy capital Astana is home to futuristic architecture.

Back  in  December,  neighboring  Uzbekistan  announced  plans  to  roll  back  its  highly  restrictive tourism regime by cancelling visa requirements for 15 countries. That move followed the election of interim leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who succeeded the late Islam Karimov.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/01/03/504680/Kazakhstan-lifts-visa-requirements-to-boost-tourism