Kazakhstan mulls ways to attract foreign workforce
By Aynur Jafarova
Facilitation of the procedures of foreign labor force attraction for foreign diplomatic and trade missions, associations of Kazakh and local entrepreneurs was high on the agenda of a roundtable organized by the Kazakh government.
Speaking at the event, organized by the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population, Kazakh Foreign Minister Erlan Idrisov stated that the roundtable is aimed to discuss specific issues and demonstrate the commitment of the Kazakh government to attract highly qualified foreign workforce to the country, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said Monday.
The minister stressed the need to use a variety of existing dialogue platforms at the level of Foreign Investors' Council, the Kazakh Prime Minister and the Ministry of Labor.
Regarding the roundtable as an effective platform for discussions and search for mutually beneficial solutions, Idrisov urged the foreign participants to thoroughly study the current legislation of Kazakhstan in order to capitalize on the wide range of existing opportunities for attracting foreign workforce to high-tech investment projects, small and medium business, representative offices and branches of foreign companies operating in the country.
Kazakh Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Population Serik Abdenov and Chairman of the Investment Committee under the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and New Technologies Erlan Khairov informed the participants about the current situation in the domestic labor market, the conditions and specific mechanisms to attract foreign labor force stipulated by the current legislation.
Later, the participants exchanged opinions on ways to find solutions to the existing challenges in attracting foreign employees.
The event was attended by the ambassadors from 26 countries, diplomats from 50 foreign diplomatic and trade missions and international organizations accredited in Kazakhstan, representatives of the Investment Committee, Prosecutor General's Office, Migration Police Committee of the Kazakh Interior Ministry, the national export and investment agency KAZNEX INVEST, Kazakh National Economic Chamber Atameken Union and Foreign Investors' Council.