Baku, Azerbaijan, July 31
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Kazakhstan expects to rise by 12 positions in the World Bank's 2018 Global Competitiveness Index, said Vice Minister of Kazakhstan’s National Economy Madina Zhunusbekova.
“We expect Kazakhstan to rank 45th in this index this year. We intend to rise by 12 positions,” Kazinform quoted Zhunusbekova as saying.
Kazakhstan ranked 57th among 137 countries in 2017 Global Competitiveness Index. The vice minister noted that raising the country's rating is one of the priorities of the government's economic policy.
She noted that government of Kazakhstan together with the country’s business community is doing a lot of work to raise the country’s competitiveness rating.
It is planned to reconstruct 4,200 kilometers of highways of national importance in 2018 and to repair 2,000 kilometers of roads, with the possibility of increasing this figure to 5,000 kilometers in the future.
Zhunusbekova said that all government services necessary for doing business are provided on the basis of "one window" principle. The country has adopted a new tax code aiming to simplify tax administration procedures.
The macroeconomic situation in Kazakhstan improved in 2017. The average annual inflation in the country decreased from 14.6 percent to 7.1 percent. The budget deficit dropped to 4.4 percent in 2016 from 5.3 percent in 2015.
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