BAKU, Azerbiajan, Mar. 30
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the government of Kazakhstan have agreed on an Enhanced Partnership Framework Arrangement (EPFA) to boost the resilience, modernization, digitalization and regional integration of the national economy as well as to accelerate its recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic, Trend reports citing the EBRD.
The five-year agreement will remain in place until December 2025 and builds on a previous agreement signed in 2017, which contributed to the creation of Kazakhstan’s green, gender-responsive and inclusive economy. It helped to improve the competitiveness of local companies, brought investments into infrastructure and cemented Kazakhstan’s position as a regional leader in renewable energy in Central Asia.
The new EPFA will foster greater cooperation on the promotion of sustainable development and growth in Kazakhstan and foresees joint activities in the following areas:
- developing the resilience of Kazakhstan’s economy by supporting the private sector and attracting foreign direct investment
- promoting a green, inclusive and gender-responsive economy and its enhanced digitalization
- supporting the country’s further integration into the regional and global economy through investments in infrastructure, energy and general industry projects
- promoting the decarbonization of the energy sector and Kazakhstan’s alignment with the Paris Agreement by financing renewable generation projects and creating the necessary legal framework
- developing modern transport and municipal infrastructure across Kazakhstan by introducing new operational models, including public-private partnerships (PPPs)
- enhancing the role of Kazakhstan’s banking sector, including the support of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
- developing new financial products, including the promotion of sustainable bonds as instruments for green financing, in close cooperation with the Astana International Finance Centre
- providing pre-privatization support to selected state-owned enterprises.
To date, the EBRD has invested more than US$ 7.95 billion in the economy of Kazakhstan through 280 projects. Supporting small businesses is particularly important to the EBRD and in line with its country strategy for Kazakhstan.