Kazakhstan, Italy mull co-op issues
By Kamila Aliyeva
Italy is one of the most active trade partners of Kazakhstan and the two countries aim to further develop cooperation in a number of areas.
The meeting of Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev and Italian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Pasquale D'Avino was held on April 20.
They discussed issues of bilateral cooperation and expansion of partnership between Kazakhstan and Italy in various spheres of trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian development, energy, civil aviation, tourism, transport and logistics, according to the press service of the head of government.
Prospective directions of new investment projects in the field of agriculture, engineering, light industry, construction industry, mining and metallurgical industry were considered.
Sagintayev congratulated the Ambassador with the appointment and wished successes and achievements on the post.
It is noted that Italy is among the top three trade partners of Kazakhstan (the share in the total commodity turnover of Kazakhstan is 15.9 percent, after Russia and China), the first among the EU countries in terms of foreign trade, and also one of the largest investors in Kazakhstan's economy.
Today 228 joint ventures with participation of Italy operate in Kazakhstan. Investment projects in such industries as engineering, light industry, construction industry, mining and metallurgical industry are successfully implemented.
The trade turnover in 2017 amounted to $9.615 billion (exports - $8.669 billion, imports - $946 million), which is 16 percent more compared to 2016.
In January-February this year, the trade turnover was $1.824 billion (exports - $1.699 billion, imports - $125 million), which is 25 percent more than in the same period of 2017. In 2005-2017, the volume of direct Italian investments in the economy of Kazakhstan amounted to $5.76 billion.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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