On Friday 13 November 2020, the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Belgium and Luxembourg, together with the "Kazakh Invest" national company and the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, organised the investment webinar "Go International: Kazakhstan".
The event brought together around 100 representatives of government and business circles from Kazakhstan and Luxembourg. Guests included the Kazakh Ambassador to Luxembourg, Aigul Kuspan, the Director of International Affairs of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Cindy Tereba, the Chairman of the investment committee, Askar Shokybayev, the Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan to Luxembourg and CEO of Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), Benedikt Sobotka, the CEO of AIFC Business Connect, James Martin, and the Managing Director of Logistics and International Cooperation at Samruk-Kazyna, Yerzhan Tutkushev.
Ambassador Aigul Kuspan invited Luxembourg companies to implement joint investment projects, particularly with the use of high-tech solutions in the field of innovation, digitalisation, aviation, space industry and financial and banking - areas where Luxembourg has achieved great success. She emphasised the openness, flexibility, effective management, use of high technologies and multilingualism that characterise Luxembourg business.
The ambassador stated: "[A] unique geographical location in the heart of Europe gives Luxembourg an advantage for financial and business development. The Grand Duchy is an innovative and financial hub that attracts technology projects and startups from all over the world. Kazakhstan, due to its advantageous location at the crossroads of transcontinental transport corridors between Europe and Asia, has direct access to the market of more than 500 million consumers, including the countries of Central Asia, the Caspian basin and Western China. The similarity between Kazakhstan and Luxembourg is the fact that our countries are home to many cultures. They are united by mutual respect and friendship. All this allows our countries to find common ground and new niches of cooperation".
ERG CEO Benedikt Sobotka commented: "We are very optimistic about doing business in Kazakhstan, because we know that the country has tremendous development potential. [...] In my capacity as Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan to Luxembourg, I have also had the privilege of deepening Kazakhstan's international cooperation. In partnership with the Embassy of Kazakhstan, we organise various cultural events and help facilitate bilateral relations, trade and investment".
Cindy Tereba from the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce added that it is important to maintain international trade relations and develop new markets in the difficult times related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the Chamber of Commerce is seeking to strengthen its support for companies by introducing innovative solutions, such as the Kazakhstan-Luxembourg investment webinar.
Similarly, investment committee chairman Askar Shokybayev noted the great potential for expanding trade, economic and investment cooperation between the two countries and called on Luxembourg companies to take an active part in the implementation of mutually beneficial projects.
The webinar also featured presentations by Ainur Tumysheva, on behalf of "Kazakh invest", CEO of AIFC Business Connect, James Martin, and Yerzhan Tutkushev, representing Samruk-Kazyna, on why doing business with Kazakhstan is profitable.
Most of the webinar was devoted to the success stories of Luxembourg companies in Kazakhstan. Andre Reitenbach, CEO of «G-Core Labs», Vijay Goyal, CEO of ArcelorMittal CIS, and Alexander Sokolov, Head of the Arendt & Medernach office in Moscow, shared their experiences.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, mutual trade for the first eight months of 2020 showed good indicators ($1.6 billion). The inflow of direct investment from Luxembourg to Kazakhstan from 2005 to the second half of 2020 amounted to }1.4 billion. Today, 172 companies operate in Kazakhstan with the participation of Luxembourg capital.
