OREANDA-NEWS  On 26 February was announced, that Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Karim Massimov meets Shigeo Katsu, World Bank Vice-President for Europe and Central Asia Region.

In the course of his working visit to Kazakhstan, Shigeo Katsu, World Bank Vice-President for Europe and Central Asia Region, met with Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Karim Massimov to discuss projects and programs currently in progress in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan enjoyed stable financial positions when the global financial crisis broke out, noted S. Katsu at a press conference in Astana. “The Government has responded to mitigate the crisis. Its anti-crisis program is comprehensive and covers all the key areas”, he said.

“Through this anti-crisis program, Kazakhstan’s people and all the economy players will be able to survive the shock of the global financial crisis”, believes S. Katsu. According to him, “the financial crisis is being now felt in Kazakhstan, but the nation does have a counter-crisis program and this instills hope”.

“For now the major goal is to implement [the program] effectively and transparently… I think everybody will agree that in the mid and long term Kazakhstan’s prospects remain positive. We should be aware that the crisis is serious and we shouldn’t be expecting a steep upturn”, S. Katsu said.

It’s of great importance to maintain the nation’s achievements, support socially vulnerable groups of population, and invest into human capital development. Moreover, the crisis encourages economy diversification, S. Katsu summed up.