the Visit of the First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Mr. Alikhan Smailov and his accompanying delegation

The Qatari Businessmen Association organized a meeting with a high-level delegation from the Republic of Kazakhstan headed by His Excellency Mr. Alikhan Smailov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan. The delegation included the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vice Minister of Agriculture, Vice Minister of National Economy, in the presence of His Excellency Mr. Arman Issagaliyev Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Qatar, where the parties discussed potential opportunities for enhancing the bilateral economic relations.
The meeting was headed by His Excellency Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, QBA Chairman, in the presence of QBA members: Sheikh Faisal bin Fahd Al Thani, Mr. Khalid Al Mannai, Mr. Nabil Abu Issa, Mr. Muhammad Al Rabban, Mr. Maqbool Khalfan, Mr. Ramez Al-Khayyat, Mr. Ibrahim Al-Jaidah, Mr. Faisal Al-Mana, Mr. Muhammad Althaf, as well as Ms. Sarah Abdullah, QBA Deputy GM.

At the beginning of the meeting, Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani welcomed the delegation and pointed out the openness of the Qatari Businessmen Association to search for investment opportunities in the global market, as most of QBA members have various diversified investments in many countries around the world. Sheikh Faisal also spoke about the competitiveness of the Qatari companies and the Qatari market, which is full of opportunities, and expressed the will of QBA to facilitate partnerships among businessmen of both countries and the readiness of Qatari businessmen to cooperate with their counterparts in Kazakhstan. For their part, QBA Members provided an overview of the different economic sectors of their companies and the investment sectors they are interested in.

For his part, His Excellency Mr. Alikhan Smailov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, thanked QBA for organizing this meeting and pointed out the distinguished relations between Kazakhstan and Qatar, confirming that his visit aims at strengthening ways of cooperation and develop the partnership between the business sectors in the two countries. He explained that the government of Kazakhstan has strategic goals seeking to achieve with its trading partners, especially in the fields of mining, energy, agriculture, construction and others.

The delegation demonstrated the investment opportunities and projects in the various economic sectors. It has been pointed out that there are more than 5,000 deposits of mineral resources in the country, with an estimated cost of tens of trillions of dollars. The country ranks first in the world in explored reserves of zinc, tungsten and barite, the second - on silver, lead and chromite, the third - on copper and fluorite, the fourth - on molybdenum, and the sixth - on gold

Representatives of the government also spoke about the significant oil and gas resources, which ranks ninth in the world in terms of proven oil reserves, most of which are located in the western regions. In addition, the country's uranium and coal deposits rank second and eighth in the world, respectively. The delegation presented opportunities for public-private partnerships in future investment projects in the energy sector, specifically with regard to uranium for electricity production
In the agriculture sector, the vice Minister of Agriculture spoke about the sector in Kazakhstan, which is among the top ten grain-exporting countries in the world and is one of the leading countries in the export of flour. He also added that nearly 70% of the arable land in the north of the country is occupied by grains and industrial crops such as wheat and barley. Rice, cotton and tobacco are also grown in the south of the country. 

Kazakhstan is also famous for its gardens, vineyards, and melons. Livestock farming is another leading area of agriculture in the country, especially with the government's Agricultural Development Fund to attract foreign investors

For their part, QBA members affirmed their interest in discussing investment opportunities in Kazakhstan, stressing their readiness to develop cooperation between the two parties, proposing that the first visit be organized after the opening of the direct flight line between the two countries soon, in order to discuss and study possible investment projects not only in Qatar and Kazakhstan, but also in other countries. 
The representative of the National Investment Agency also provided an overview of the investment climate in the republic, as well as providing some information on Kazakhstan's ratings in major economic indicators such as Fitch and Moody's. The delegation also indicated that the country intends to vaccinate 100% of the population by the end of next month (September). This is in addition to the country's efforts to develop the infrastructure to facilitate the transportation of goods through the establishment of an advanced transportation network

Prior to QBA’s meeting, a tour at Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani Museum was organized the day before for the members of the delegation, where the delegation expressed their great admiration for the museum’s exhibits, and thanked Sheikh Faisal for the private t