UPDATE: Putin pledges support to Russia–Kazakh business initiatives

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ASTANA, Oct 4 (PRIME) -- Moscow will provide financial support to Russian–Kazakh business initiatives, President Vladimir Putin said at a business forum on Tuesday.

“We are talking about significant financial support to joint Russian–Kazakh business initiatives. And not only through national institutes like Vnesheconombank and Industrial Development Fund, but through other versatile institutes, in particular, the Eurasian Development Bank,” he said.

Putin invited Kazakh firms to joint projects with Russian companies in the special economic zone in the Urals area.

Kazakhstan is a strategic partner and ally of Russia and Moscow will help to bring together economies of the two countries even amid difficult economic conditions, Putin also said.

“But even in such difficult conditions with the help of the business community of both countries, we will continue to make efforts to restore mutual trade to the trend of sustainable growth and development, we will continue to promote the convergence of the economies of the two countries, creating the preconditions for the start of new projects,” Putin said.

Russia and Kazakhstan will have to solve a number of difficulties, including infrastructure issues, connected with transportation of goods, services and capital between the two countries, Putin said.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev also called for boosting trade between Russia and Kazakhstan, which exceeded U.S. $20 billion before the crisis and now fell 30%. In January–June, trade stood at $6 billion, he said.

Nazarbayev also invited Russian companies to take part in privatization of 800 firms with a combined value of around $10 billion.

“We have started the next stage of large-scale privatization. The goal is to keep no more than 15% of the economy with the government,” Nazarbayev said. “Sales will be held in different ways: starting with the ordinary auctions and ending with a direct targeted sale to strategic investors. I suppose that Russian companies will take active participation in this action.”

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