World Monitor Magazine WM_November_2019_web | Page 16

DESTINATION europe
Netherlands and Kazakhstan:
long-term partnership and plans for 2019
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is one of the most long-term
partners for Kazakhstan in investment, commerce and economy. The
Ambassador of the Netherlands in RK shared about the current agenda
and planned projects for 2019 and in the upcoming years.
The Netherlands is the largest
source of foreign direct investment
into Kazakhstan. What's your view
on investment diversification and
increasing export potential from
Kazakhstan to the Netherlands?
Andre Carstens,
H.E. Ambassador of
the Kingdom of the
Netherlands to the
Republic of Kazakhstan
I fully agree that diversification of
Kazakhstan’s
economy
is
needed.
Diversification in many ways: energy
resources, agriculture, sustainability, cyber
technology, small and medium enterprises,
startups, etc. In general, we are in favor of
a bottom-up approach and of promoting
business to business contacts.
A very important sector for the diversification
of the economy in Kazakhstan and for our
bilateral cooperation is agriculture. The
Netherlands has been the biggest investor
into the economy of Kazakhstan for many
years already. So far, most of our investments
were directed into the oil and gas sector.
Twenty years ago foreign investments
became the basis for the development of
the economy of Kazakhstan. From the very
beginning we have played a significant role
in this respect.
Now
that agriculture has become
Kazakhstan’s first-priority sector, new
technologies and expertise from the
Netherlands yet again can be of great help.
Despite our small territory – we are the world’s
second largest exporter of agricultural and
food products. The Dutch agriculture sector
maintains its leading place in international
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world monitor
markets due to its continual investment
in innovation, education, research and
development in the agri-food sector.
The Embassy of the Netherlands in
Kazakhstan supports cooperation between
Kazakhstan and the Netherlands in the
field of agriculture. We organize the trade
missions of Dutch agricultural companies
to different regions of Kazakhstan, bring
Dutch agricultural experts as speakers to
important agricultural events and facilitate
study tours of Kazakh agricultural experts to
the Netherlands. The next such activity is the
Agroworld exhibition in Almaty in November
in which 20 Dutch agricultural companies
will participate. Three Dutch experts will
speak at the forum of the exhibition.
In total over 70 Dutch agricultural
companies are already active in Kazakhstan.
New technologies from the Netherlands,
equipment,
planting
materials,
bio
technologies of crop protection and
know-how are already present in various
important agricultural sectors in Kazakhstan:
greenhouses,
cooling
storages
for
vegetables, fruits and flowers, horticulture,
dairy and poultry sectors. Netherlands’
companies supply turnkey projects and
provide after sales support.
Very often the demand for products
produced by local companies with Dutch
equipment is very high as the products do
not only go to the local market but also
get exported to neighbouring markets such