Kazakhstan currently leads Central Asia in attracting foreign investment and has caught the attention of Ithraa — Oman’s inward investment and export promotion agency — which, in partnership with the Omani Embassy in Astana, recently organised a four-day exploratory trade mission to Kazakhstan.
Leading the trade visit, Ithraa’s Head of Export Support Services, Madyan al Balushi said: “Large-scale changes are taking place in Kazakhstan and it was clear from our discussions with Kazakh Export, Kazakh Invest and the Chamber of International Commerce of Kazakhstan that there are attractive commercial opportunities for Omani non-oil exporters of all sizes across multiple sectors.”
Al Balushi added: “There are also opportunities for Omani exporters in agriculture, mining, plastics, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage as well as building materials”
The aim of the mission was to help deepen trade relations between Muscat and Astana and for Ithraa management to gain first-hand experience of the commercial opportunities Kazakhstan offers Oman’s exporters.
Kazakhstan stands at the crossroads between East and West and between North and South and is an upper-middle-income economy, with ambitions to quickly reach high-income status. Real GDP growth accelerated from an annual average of slightly above 1 per cent in 2015-16 to 4 per cent in 2017; this momentum has carried through to the first quarter of 2018 when GDP expanded by an estimated 4.1 per cent. The country’s recent economic success is mainly the result of an improved performance by the oil sector. Combine that with more favourable terms of trade, and Kazakhstan has witnessed growth in its non-oil manufacturing and service sectors.
“Kazakhstan is a natural transit corridor that is part of China’s Belt and Road initiative — a network of railroads and shipping lanes linking 70 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and Oceania. It is also a member of the Eurasian Economic Union which could potentially give Omani exporters access to a market of over 180 million people,” explained Ithraa’s Head of Export Support Services.
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