ASTANA, Kazakhstan, December 11. Kazakhstan is implementing new measures in mining and geological exploration to enhance transparency in the mining sector, Trend reports.
A meeting was held between the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and the Chairperson of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), Helen Clark.
During the conversation, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized that since joining the organization in 2007, Kazakhstan has demonstrated its commitment to adhering to EITI standards. It is legally mandated for subsoil users to comply with the organization’s requirements and provide reports on taxes and other payments to the national budget.
The President informed the head of EITI about the regulatory measures being taken in the field of geological exploration and mining. In particular, a comprehensive plan for the development of the industry has been adopted, and a unified subsoil use platform has been launched, which includes an interactive map and more than 50,000 geological reports. Additionally, business processes for obtaining licenses for exploration and mining activities have been simplified.
For her part, Helen Clark shared the strategic plans and key priorities of the organization for the upcoming period. She also highly praised Kazakhstan's efforts to improve legislation in the field of subsoil use in line with the requirements for transparency in the extractive industries.
To note, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is an international standard aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in the oil, gas, and mining sectors. The main goal is to ensure the openness of the payments made by companies and the revenues received by governments from natural resource extraction, which fosters responsible resource management. Kazakhstan has been committed to implementing EITI standards since 2007.