Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov met with Deputy Director General - FAO Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia Viorel Gutsu, primeminister.kz reports.
Discussed plans for the implementation of agreements reached between President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the head of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations Qiu Dongyu. Attention was paid to the implementation of joint projects under the Kazakhstan FAO Partnership Programme. The Organisation's portfolio in the country consists of 55 projects.
It is noteworthy that we are meeting with you after yesterday's important decision to establish a UN Centre on Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty. It is gratifying that the initiative of the Head of State was unanimously supported by all member countries of the UN General Assembly. This is a sign of high trust and great responsibility for us. Today's dialogue, I am sure, will allow us to substantially consider issues of cooperation in the agro-industrial complex and water resources. Kazakhstan is a leader in the production and export of grain and oilseed crops in the Central Asian region. We intend to actively develop the processing of agricultural products and increase the share of products with high conversion to 70%. In the next three years we plan to implement more than 600 investment projects in agribusiness worth $4.8 billion. FAO is an important strategic partner in achieving these goals," Olzhas Bektenov emphasised.
Today, Kazakhstan ranks 32nd out of 113 in the Global Food Security Index. Domestic agricultural products are exported to 80 countries. At the end of last year, as a result of measures taken to support the agro-industrial complex, the growth of gross output was 13.7 per cent.
Deputy Director General and FAO Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia Viorel Gutsu noted the significant potential of Kazakhstan in the agro-industrial sector and emphasised the importance of expanding cooperation for sustainable development of rural areas.
Kazakhstan is actively seeking to develop agriculture by introducing innovative approaches and technologies, as well as improving access to finance and investment. In July 2018, Kazakhstan ratified the basic agreement between the Government of Kazakhstan and FAO. An integral part of this agreement is the FAO-Kazakhstan Partnership Programme’(FKPP). The key areas of the FCPP, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, will be to improve food security, digitalisation of agribusiness, sustainable resource management and development of export potential, which will contribute to sustainable growth of rural areas and improve the lives of rural people," Viorel Gutsu said.
In addition, prospects for cooperation in the field of water resources were discussed. Kazakhstan is carrying out a large-scale modernisation of the water sector, including the construction of 20 new and reconstruction of at least 15 existing reservoirs, as well as the reconstruction and digitalisation of more than 3,500 km of irrigation canals. The participants of the meeting emphasised that the solution of the environmental problem in the Caspian Sea should become a priority of long-term international cooperation.
As a result of the meeting, the parties confirmed their readiness to strengthen interaction for further development of mutually beneficial co-operation and successful implementation of joint initiatives.
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