Over 130 Kazakh, Indian Companies Eye Coop In New Delhi

NEW DELHI. KAZINFORM - On 15-16 February in Delhi, with the assistance of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Republic of India, the second meeting of the Kazakh-Indian Business Council was held, Kazinform reports. The event was organized by the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. The Business Council was attended by representatives of more than 30 Kazakh companies operating in various sectors of the economy, including JSC "Tengri Bank", JSC "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy", JSC "Kazakh Corporation of Health and Medical Insurance "Interteach", "Air Astana", "Zaman Group", "Cyber Security Center of the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University", "PRIME GROUP Managing Company LLP", "National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan ATAMEKEN" and others. More than 100 Indian companies interested in establishing trade, economic and investment ties with Kazakhstan partners took part in the event from the Indian side, including "GMR Group", "TATA Projects Ltd.", "Artemis Hospitals", "Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.", "Air India", "Chandan Steel Group", "Multiwyn Industries Pvt. Ltd.", "Escorts Limited", "Sonalika International Tractors Ltd.", "RELIANCE", "CAPEXIL" and others. In the course of the event, co-chairman of the Business Council from the Indian side, Chairman & Managing Director of "RRB Energy Limited" Mr. Rakesh Bakshi, Extraordinary Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of India Bulat Sarsenbayev, the co-chairman of the Business Council from Kazakhstan side, Chairman of the board of "Tengri Bank" Mr. Yerzhan Shaikenov, as well as Joint Secretary of Eurasia Division of the Ministry of External Affairs of India G V Srinivas addressed the audience. Rakesh Bakshi, in his speech, thanking the Kazakh delegation for participation, noted its quantitative and qualitative composition. The representative of the Indian side, also, assured that the Indian business community shows great interest in cooperation with potential partners from Kazakhstan. More than 100 applications from Indian companies were submitted for participation in this Business Council. Mr. Shaikenov, addressing participants of the Business Council, told what has been made by the Council from the date of its first session in May 2016. Today, the Business Council has contacts and agreements with the main chambers of commerce and industry of the two countries and plays the role of coordinator for many companies of both nations in search of projects and partners. In addition, the co-chairman of the Business Council from the Kazakh side reported that more than a hundred Indian companies have already opened accounts in Tengri Bank for the purpose of using them in implementing projects in Kazakhstan. Also, Shaikenov expressed hope that the organized event will fruitfully affect the further development of bilateral economic cooperation and assured that both sides have a clear understanding that this work needs to be supported in the future. He suggested holding the next meeting of the Business Council in Kazakhstan in 2019. In his turn, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan in India, thanking the representatives of business circles of the two countries for participation, said that the creation and holding of the business council meeting is subordinated to the new principles of development of Kazakhstan, its economy and trade relations stated in the main points of President Nursultan Nazarbayev's Address to the people of Kazakhstan in 2018 year. In addition, Sarsenbayev noted that the mechanism of the business council provides a real platform for direct communication between the companies of the two countries, to which the growing interest of both sides is felt. In order to familiarize the audience with the internal and foreign policy of Kazakhstan for 2018, the Embassy staff prepared and distributed printed brochures with the text of the last address of the President of Kazakhstan "New opportunities amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution". After the official opening ceremony Managing Director of JSC "National Company KAZAKH INVEST" Zhandos Orazaliyev presented the investment opportunities of Kazakhstan. Later, Ravi Chaudhry, Chairman of the Board of "CeNext Group", also made a presentation "Kazakhstan: Unexplored Investment Destination for Indian Businesses". In the framework of the Business Council meeting, representatives of enterprises of the two countries held B2B meetings, during which they exchanged information and discussed prospects for cooperation. A number of preliminary agreements on the beginning of cooperation between companies in various fields were reached. For example, in the course of these B2B meetings, the projects of assembly of agricultural, construction and other machinery in Kazakhstan by the "Sonalika International Tractors Ltd.", "Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd." and "Escorts Limited" companies, energy projects in Mangistau and Karaganda regions of Kazakhstan which are under consideration to be implemented by "GMR Group", the project of creating Kazakhstan terminal in one of the seaports on the west coast of India by JSC "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy" were discussed. It is planned that the Kazakhstan terminal will be part of the logistic corridor that includes the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway. Following the meeting of the Business Council, an updated "Roadmap" was adopted on trade, economic and investment cooperation between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of India, which includes big number of prospective projects. The first roadmap was adopted in July 2015 during the Kazakh-Indian business forum in Astana, in the presence of the Prime Ministers of the two countries.