Kazakhstan or the capital Astana that marks its 25th anniversary this year .
“ There are two main exhibition centres in Kazakhstan : Atakent in Almaty that was recently refurbished according to the international standards , and the five-year-old Expo Center in the capital .”
There were around 30 exhibitions and conferences held in Kazakhstan this spring . Borodikhin highlights two of the biggest B2B events :
“ KIHE – the 28th healthcare exhibition – was held in Almaty in May , displaying 309 companies from 17 countries with several national pavilions and large participation of companies from China and Russia .
“ Kazakhstan ’ s mining and exploration sector , especially in the sphere of rare earth minerals remains in the limelight of investors and Kazakh Invest recently organised two forums dedicated to the development of the mining sector , one in Astana and one in London . “ Astana hosted AMM the 13th Mining and Metals exhibition and conference in June , attracting 1,400 delegates , with growing interest from European companies . Marat Karabayev , the minister of industry and infrastructure development of Kazakhstan , and Maroš Šefčovič , the vice-president of the European Commission , took part at the confex .
“ Both KIHE and AMM were organised by the Kazakhstan Exhibition Company Iteca and its international partner – ICA Events .
“ The autumn season is going to
EXPO International Exhibition Center , Astana
be even busier with KazBuild / Aqua- Therm , Mining and Metals Central Asia , TransLogistica , etc . to be held in Almaty , and the XV Eurasian Forum KAZENERGY will take place at the EXPO Congress Center in Astana .”
In Kazakhstan , the exhibition industry also plays an important role in stimulating economic growth and attracting foreign investment , and director of major locally based organiser , Iteca , Boris Danilenko , tells EW that their 30 years of experience has shown that expo events bring together hundreds of Kazakhstani companies from different industries at events , helping them find new partners and develop their business .
“ The situation is developing with the involvement of international participants ,” Danilenko says . “ Representatives from more than 40 countries visited our exhibitions during the spring 2023 period alone and 920 companies took part in the spring expo events , and more than 17,200 visitors came to the country .”
Danilenko adds that , in 2023 , business demand has continued to grow and he quotes figures for 2021 , when 1,218 companies took part in Iteca events , attracting 13,800 visitors . In 2022 , that figure had grown to 2,355 companies from 55 countries and 46,000 visitors .
“ According to our in-house market research , 88 % of trade show and conference visitors said visits were an important part of their product search or buying process ,” says
“ The autumn season is going to be even busier with KazBuild / Aqua-Therm , Mining and Metals Central Asia , TransLogistica , to be held in Almaty , and the XV Eurasian Forum KAZENERGY will take place at the EXPO Congress Center in Astana ”
Danilenko . “ Even more visitors , 91 %, noted that exhibitions and conferences are necessary for comparing products and meeting suppliers . Displaying products at a trade show has six times more sales impact than other means of promotion . Indeed , holding exhibitions where government and business representatives can gather to discuss current problems and possible solutions is more relevant than ever . The current situation in the global economy has created new risks for the economy of Kazakhstan , and in this situation dialogue platforms are indispensable . The growth and expansion of the geography of participants is also a consequence of the opening of borders .”
Danilenko notes that exhibitions have also become the basis for the search for new technologies and solutions for business .
Following the pandemic , the Kazakhstan healthcare industry is on the rise , with 4,000 industry professionals visiting the KIHE exhibition , far more than in previous years . Construction and food exhibitions demonstrated similarly high performance . “ Therefore ,” says Danilenko , “ we can safely say that exhibitions are a litmus test for assessing the development and state of the relevant industries .”
Iteca staged nine international exhibitions , seven conferences , one congress and dozens of round tables in this past spring season alone . Government support from the ministries in charge of an industry serves as an important guarantor of the quality of an event . Close cooperation with associations also help make a big event successful here and Danilenko , for one , is confident the development of the exhibition industry in Kazakhstan has great potential and believes the autumn exhibitions will arouse even greater interest from the international community .
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 4 2023 31