BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Special attention should be paid to geological exploration of new groundwater deposits as a strategic reserve of clean drinking water in Kazakhstan, Qazqeology's Chairman of the Board Anvar Boranbayev told Trend.
Boranbayev noted that in accordance to estiamtes by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in 2020 will be severely impacted by the global economic crisis caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Global FDI is expected to decline sharply to below $1 trillion in 2020. At the same time, the crisis could become a catalyst for the process of international production structural transformation in the coming decade. Close international cooperation will be crucial and sustainable development will depend on a global policy environment conducive to cross-border investment,” he said.
Boranbayev also noted that according to experts, a number of existing trends in the consumption of mineral resources will remain relevant until 2035.
Thus, the world economy’s demand for energy resources, ferrous, non-ferrous, noble, rare metals, non-metallic minerals, underground drinking and industrial waters in absolute terms will increase. Accordingly, the need for the reproduction of the mineral resource base will remain.
“In our opinion, special attention should be paid to exploring new underground water deposits as a strategic reserve of clean drinking water. Water is the source of life. By the middle of this century, many countries will be forced to import water,” he said.
Boranbayev added that based on WHO information, water scarcity already affects four out of every 10 people.
“Availability of mineral resources will remain one of the most important competitive advantages of the Kazakh economy, determining the place and role of the country on the international arena. The use of mineral raw materials will remain essential in formation of the gross domestic product, the state budget and state reserve funds,” Boranbayev said.
He noted that despite the fact that the share of oil and natural gas exports in the country's revenues will decrease, the importance of mineral raw materials will not decrease for Kazakhstan, as well as other oil-producing countries.
“As living and industrial production standards increase, the internal consumption of fuel, energy and other types of mineral raw materials will also increase. Therefore, the short-term plans of Qazqeology to attract local and foreign investments in geological exploration remain in force,” Boranbayev concluded.
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