UAE’s investments in Kazakhstan have crossed Dh2 billion ($545 million), said Kairat Lama Sharif, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the Emirates, adding that trade exchange recorded $135 million by the end of 2015.

Lama Sharif unveiled that Kazakhstan is willing to extend the validity of the UAE visitors stay to 30 days, instead of the regular 15-day permit. This is in addition to the fact that UAE nationals are exempted from visa to Kazakhstan since July 2014.

This was revealed on the sidelines of a delegation visit headed by Lama Sharif to Dawood Al Shezawi, founder and president of Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), one of the world’s leading Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) - focused platform.

AIM Higher Organising Committee, in collaboration with the Embassy of Kazakhstan to the UAE, presented to around 70 of Kazakhstani businessmen and investors details about 14 additional investment activities to be added during the recent sixth edition of AIM, running from April 11 to 13 at Dubai World Trade Centre.

Lama Sharif assured their eagerness to facilitate Kazakhstani delegations to attend AIM annually, pointing out that the Kazakhstani participation in AIM will be of broader scale.  Lama Sharif revealed that the city of Almaty, the largest city and financial centre in Kazakhstan, is seeking to establish bilateral relations with Dubai Municipality to help businessmen in Kazakhstan to activate economic relations with Emirati investors.

 Lama Sharif said Kazakhstan sees great importance in UAE presence in Expo Astana 2017, which will be held in the capital Astana from June 10 to September 10, 2017.

“The expo's official theme ‘Future Energy’ will be on focus, so we see the UAE as an essential participant in this event, in the sense that the country will be hosting the World Expo 2020. The UAE is home to the Irena – the International Renewable Energy Agency regional headquarters, and has prominent projects in this domain. In addition, Astana city will host the ‘Astana Expo-2017’ in conjunction with the opening of the Abu Dhabi Plaza, a development that is expected to be the tallest building in Central Asia,” added Lama Sharif.

Al Shezawi called for larger Kazakhstani presence in the forthcoming global event. He stressed on the importance of Kazakhstan to participate in AIM this year by doing a Country Presentation, pointing out that Kazakhstan has recorded strong presence over the past years and provided many promising investment opportunities in the FDI sector.

“We look forward to further collaboration, and share the same vision in building diversified, sustainable and knowledge-based economies,” he added.

More than 15,000 attendees from over 140 countries will take part in the 6th edition of AIM. According to Al Shezawi, participating in AIM will enhance opportunities for investors and companies from Kazakhstan to strengthen their presence in the UAE, the region and the world, and will enable Kazakh companies to establish new partnerships and expand its business in global markets through Dubai.

He added that AIM is the first event of its kind in the Middle East region in terms of presenting wide number of investment opportunities in a single platform. It plays a dominant role in promoting investment in emerging markets and fast-growing economies. He pointed out that the AIM works to stimulate FDIs across the world markets, contribute to strengthening the countries' economies, and establish partnerships in various sectors and fields.

The event also witnessed participation of a delegation from the city of Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, seeking to establish bilateral relations with the UAE in sectors such as energy, oil, real estate, infrastructure, telecommunications, transportation and logistics.

The Business Matching, which was also attended by businessmen from the UAE, saw series of presentations related to AIM 2016. Various aspects and investment opportunities in both countries were highlighted. – TradeArabia News Service