Kazakhstan's Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning signed a memorandum of understanding this week with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on a program for exchanging knowledge and experience, Kazakh Foreign Ministry Press Release says. The program will include joint research on multilateral growth and diversification of the economy; institutional and political development; regional cooperation and integration; and raising competitiveness.
The research, which will be carried out from 2013 to 2015, will be funded in equal parts by the Government of Kazakhstan and the ADB. Announcing the move, the Minister of Economy and Budget Planning, Yerbolat Dossayev, said, "Kazakhstan sets great store by its cooperation with the Asian Development Bank, which is supporting us in our modernization of the economy and in carrying out important social projects." For the Bank, the Vice President (Operations), Xiaoyu Zhao, said that they were keen to work with countries such as Kazakhstan where the mean personal income is higher than average, as they can cooperate on a level beyond simply financial support.