Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan have signed 13 bilateral memoranda of understanding (MoUs) covering a range of sectors such as power, tourism, sports, agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, media and financial services.
The bilateral pacts include a GTG (government-to-government) investment agreement between Saudi ministry of sports and the Kazakh ministry of culture and sports to support the thriving sector, agreements between the ministry of media of Saudi Arabia and the ministry of information and social development of Kazakhstan, as well as between Saudi Press Agency and Kazakhstan’s TV and Radio Complex for information exchange.
Cooperation agreements between Saudi Arabia’s Ajlan & Bros Holding Group and several Kazakh partners for commercial activities such as meat exports and an MoU between Saudi stock exchange Tadawul and Astana International Exchange Ltd are among the other pacts signed between the two sides.
The agreements were signed at the Saudi-Kazakh Investment Meeting held on Sunday.
The Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) hosted a senior delegation from Kazakhstan at the meet.
The MoUs demonstrated joint impetus to expand global power capabilities, while indicating a growing global recognition of the investment opportunities available across diverse Saudi sectors.
The meeting was chaired by Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who led the Kazakh delegation of business leaders and diplomats.
The Kazakh delegation included Mukhtar Tleuberdi, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan and Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The meeting included presentations by both Kazakh and Saudi entities.
From the Kazakhstan side, Almassadam Satkaliyev, CEO of sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna (JSC), proposed several joint pilot projects in technology and knowledge transfer and green technologies.
Kanat Sharlapayev from Bayterek National Management Holding, the Kazakhstan government’s main financial agent, shared perspectives on how to support sustainable economic development to implement the country’s ambitious national goals.
From the Saudi side, Mohammed Abunayyan, chairman of ACWA Power, Yousef Al Benyan, CEO of SABIC, Talal Al Khoraiji, vice president of Saudi National Bank, Ahmed Al Dakkeel, CEO of Alrajhi International for Investment, and Shaaf Al-Osaymi, senior director of the strategy delivery business line at Maaden, showcased their work and highlighted areas of investment available in the Kingdom.
Representatives from Kazakh companies, chambers of commerce and trade associations attended the event, taking part in B2B and G2B meetings to explore mutually beneficial investment opportunities.
The bilateral pacts signed on Saturday followed on the Kazakhstan tourism forum held in April, where Kazakh travel companies signed cooperation agreements with Saudi tour operators, and also the visit of investment minister Khalid Al-Falih to Kazakhstan in September.
The Kazakh Investment Meeting follows several successful MISA-hosted events with investment counterparts from such countries as the US, Italy, Greece, France and Thailand, resulting in enhanced cooperation and multiple MoUs to explore investment opportunities across several sectors.
Saudi Arabia has seen strong growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) in recent years as the Kingdom’s economic reforms have unlocked a broad range of opportunities for international investors.
Last year, net FDI growth increased by an unprecedented over 257 percent, with inflows totalling almost $20 billion for the year – the highest for a decade.
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