+16° / +4°C WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2019 No 20 (182) www.astanatimes.com Kazakh, Belarusian presidents agree to Kazakhstan moves up enhance long-term trade cooperation to 25th spot in WB Doing Business Report procedures, optimise state control By Nazira Kozhanova and oversight activities and im- prove the business climate,” ac- NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan cording to comments on Kazakh moved up three spots to 25th on Prime Minister Askar Mamin’s the World Bank Doing Business website. 2020 report, according to the re- The moving up in the ranking port published on Oct. 24. became possible as Kazakhstan Kazakhstan made improvements made starting a business easier by in issuing permits, ease of get- registering companies for value ting a loan and starting a business. added tax at the time of incor- However, difficulties in registering poration. Another improvement property and resolving insolvency was in the strengthened access to remain, according to the report. credit by automatically extending “Improving the position of Ka- security interests to the products, zakhstan in the Doing Business proceeds and replacements of rating was made possible thanks the original assets and by giving to the ongoing systematic work of secured creditors absolute prior- the government to reform existing ity during insolvency proceedings, legislation, improve the licensing states the ranking report. system, simplify business creation Continued on Page A7 Photo credit: akorda.kz. Photo credit: tripled over the last three years increased over the past three years politicians in the Commonwealth By Elya Altynsarina to $800 million in 2018 while the container rail transport service of Independent States (CIS) and Kazakh imports to Belarus have along the China-Europe-China noted they have met three times NUR-SULTAN – The Presi- increased 45 percent. He said mu- route almost 6.5 times. over the past six months. Country ranks dents of Kazakhstan and Belarus tual trade can be increased and The sides also noted the poten- The Belarusian President also oversaw the signing of five bilat- announced an agreement to de- tial for cooperation in IT through noted the positive state of bilateral eral agreements and held a joint velop a long-term plan, utilising Nazarbayev University, the Astana relations. press conference Oct. 25, con- the Eurasian Economic Union, to Hub, and the High-Tech Park in “I want to note that our rela- 55th in Global cluding a two-day official visit by increase trade and the quantity of Minsk, as well as in the field of tions with Kazakhstan are close, Belarusian President Alexander goods supplied. finance via cooperation with the our economies are mutually sup- Lukashenko to the Kazakh capi- The two leaders also discussed Astana International Financial portive, we always create new tal. Lukashenko’s visit was his strengthening industrial coopera- Centre. opportunities for each other. Competitiveness Index first to Kazakhstan since the elec- tion. The presidents also discussed Everything that we produce in moved to second place. Hong tion of President Kassym-Jomart “Currently, there are about 340 developing economic ties in the the country, is Kazakhstan needs By Assel Satubaldina Kong, the Netherlands and Swit- Tokayev. joint enterprises in Kazakhstan. region and hosting of a forum on it, everything that you produce zerland round out the top five. The sides discussed economic, Eight joint ventures are engaged in interregional cooperation. in Kazakhstan, we are ready to NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan Singapore ranks first in terms political, cultural and humanitar- the production of large industrial Tokayev said the visit will en- purchase with great pleasure,” moved up four spots to 55th out of ian issues. They also discussed and agricultural equipment,” the hance Kazakh-Belarusian strategic Lukashenko said, adding that the of infrastructure, health, labour 141 countries in the Global Com- foreign policy, including establish- Kazakh President said. and economic cooperation. Speak- state of relations is the result of market functioning and financial ing more trade and economic part- “If Kazakhstan is a gateway to ing at a joint press conference of years of cooperation. petitiveness Index published Oct. 9 system development. With the nerships. Asia, then Belarus is a bridge to the two leaders, he said the basis “Between Minsk and Nur-Sul- by the World Economic Forum. The city-state leading the ranking, the “We are interested in increas- Europe; our countries are part of for the countries’ strategic partner- tan, we have gained positive expe- report assesses drivers of productiv- East Asia and Pacific regions have ing the volume of trade between the Belt and Road Initiative, and ship was established by Kazakh- rience of interaction at all levels,” ity and long-term economic growth. become the most competitive in our states, strengthening ties in by implementing it we will give a stan’s First President, Nursultan he said. Kazakhstan, with a score of 63 the world, followed by Europe and the humanitarian sphere, and con- new impetus to our trade and eco- Nazarbayev and that Lukashen- The two leaders issued a joint points, is positioned between Uru- North America. tinuing active cooperation with nomic ties,” Tokayev said. ko’s visit is a continuation of that statement after their meeting, guay and Brunei Darussalam. Kazakhstan’s highest score was international organisations,” said The United Transport and Logis- partnership. which seeks to intensify coopera- The report, in its 40th year, or- in the shareholder governance in- Tokayev. tics Company, in which Kazakh- Tokayev added that Lukashenko tion and coordinate actions in the ganises 103 indicators, such as dicator in the institutions pillar. Tokayev noted mutual trade had stan and Belarus are shareholders, is one of the most experienced international arena. digital skills, inflation and social The country’s institutions, which capital, into 12 pillars – institu- were assessed across security, so- tions, infrastructure, information cial capital, checks and balances, and communication technology public sector performance, trans- (ICT) adoption, macroeconomic parency, property rights, corporate stability, health, skills, product governance and future government IAEA LEU Bank receives first shipment market, labour market, financial orientation, ranked 64th. system, market size, business dy- now established and operational,” realised at the initiative of the First LEU Bank Marta Ferrari said, ac- The nation ranks 67th in terms namism and innovation capability. By Yerbolat Uatkhanov IAEA Acting Director General President of Kazakhstan, Nursul- cording to the IAEA press release. of infrastructure and 44th in ICT Singapore, named the world’s Cornel Feruta said, according to an tan Nazarbayev,” the Ministry of Acquiring 90 tonnes of LEU from adoption, performing relatively most competitive economy, scored NUR-SULTAN – The Inter- IAEA press release. “It is the first Foreign Affairs of the country said two vendors is the IAEA’s largest better than the upper-middle-in- 84.8 points to overtake last year’s national Atomic Energy Agency time the agency has undertaken a in its Oct. 17 press release. single procurement in its history. come group average. leader, the United States, which Continued on Page A4 (IAEA) Low-Enriched-Uranium project of this legal, operational “Because of the long journey, it The project implementation re- (LEU) Fuel Bank in Kazakhstan and logistical complexity.” took more than four weeks to trans- quired many efforts, such as ne- received Oct. 17 its first shipment Owned by the IAEA and hosted port the LEU to the site. It required gotiating a legal framework with of low-enriched uranium. by Kazakhstan, the IAEA LEU coordination among many partners Kazakhstan and its operator – Ulba The LEU Bank is meant to be Bank is one of the agency’s most involved in the project. We have Metallurgical Plant (UMP), which a supply source of last resort for ambitious and challenging projects gained valuable experience, as well is situated in the East Kazakhstan IAEA member states who have had since it was founded in 1957. as confidence, that we can use this Region, – designing and building Nur-Sultan hosts a disruption in their access to fuel. “The international project to transport route in case a country re- the storage facility to IAEA safety “With the arrival of the first establish the IAEA LEU Bank in quests supply of LEU,” the IAEA’s and security standards. shipment, the IAEA LEU Bank is Kazakhstan has been successfully Acting Project Executive for the Continued on Page A3 UN urban tourism summit EU, UNDP and Kazakhstan launch education the frequent association of smart By Assel Satubaldina cities with the use of advanced technologies and innovations. NUR-SULTAN – Nur-Sultan Tourism should also become an programme to train Afghan women hosted Oct. 9-10 the United Na- integral part of the city’s develop- foundation training, hosted a re- stan, the students are to study at an will provide $2.2 million for the tions World Tourism Organisa- ment agenda as a means to make By Amir Khaidar ception in their honour with re- agricultural university in Termez. programme. tion (UNWTO) Summit on Urban tourism a true contributor to the marks from international and Ka- The United Nations Women will “It is our principled position that Tourism. More than 700 delegates development of cities. ALMATY – The European Un- zakh officials, as well as some of organise summer schools that will Afghanistan should not be viewed from 30 countries gathered to ex- Nur-Sultan Akim (Mayor) Altai ion, the United Nations Develop- the students themselves. train the women in entrepreneur- as a source of challenges but as a plore the definition of smart cities Kulginov said globalisation is a ment Programme (UNDP) and Between now and 2025, 50 Af- ship and networking to contribute source of opportunities,” Kazakh- and smart destinations and the role driving force to eliminate barriers Kazakhstan launched Oct. 18 an ghan students, including 10 wom- to their post-study employment stan’s Deputy Foreign Minister of tourism in the development of in mass tourism.