OREANDA-NEWS. May 14, 2009. The Kazakh side was represented by heads of the Ministry’s key departments and Mr. Askar Musinov, Kazakhstan’s ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the UAE, reported the Official website government.kz.

Today at the Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Budget Planning Minister Bakhyt Sultanov met a UAE delegation headed by Fahim Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, UAE ex-Minister of Economy.

The Kazakh side was represented by heads of the Ministry’s key departments and Mr. Askar Musinov, Kazakhstan’s ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the UAE. The UAE delegation included representatives of business community in spheres of construction and real estate, as well as managers of largest trading houses.

In the course of the meeting Minister Sultanov briefed the guests on the current socio-economic situation in Kazakhstan and anti-crisis measures taken. “This year we’ve for the first time seen GDP decrease by 2% in the Q1. We believe that the funds injected into the economy under the anti-crisis program have not been accommodated so far. Given all the anti-crisis measures taken by the Government we estimated that the annual GDP growth will make up 1%”, the Minister said.

The Minister briefed Fahim Bin Sultan Al Qasimi on the current state of the banking industry of Kazakhstan. “Despite credit crunch the banking system has maintained its stability”, he assured.

Fahim Bin Sultan Al Qasimi noted that bilateral relations “have been successfully developing in all realms”. “It’s very important that despite the hassle of the global economy Kazakhstan has retained steady positions and it’s obvious that the crisis developments will be overcome”.

In the course of the meeting the sides dwelt on investment opportunities for the UAE in Kazakhstan. Minister Sultanov assured the guests that Kazakhstan had been doing much to attract foreign investments. He noted that amendments inserted into the Tax Code in January 2009 improve conditions both for domestic and foreign investors.

When closing the meeting, Minister Sultanov expressed hope for mutual interest to developing bilateral cooperation.