MADRID: Spanish Secretary of State for Trade Maria Luisa Poncela urged entrepreneurs on Friday to explore business opportunities in Kazakhstan, which she described as advantageous because of a “confluence of interests.”
“Kazakhstan is a country with a development plan that includes several sectors in which Spanish technology is a world leader,” Poncela told EFE on the sidelines of a Spanish-Kazakh business forum in Madrid.
She said both countries placed a high value on renewable energies and infrastructures, areas in which “Spain can make contributions to help the Kazakh economy develop.”
Bilateral relations were strengthened after the two countries signed a Strategic Partnership agreement in 2010.
The pact created a large cooperation platform in the political, economic and technological fields, as well as in defense and culture.
“Kazakhstan is not only a transit country between Europe and China, but wants to take advantage of its geostrategic situation to develop its sectors. And this is where Spain needs greater cooperation with Kazakhstan,” Poncela said.
Kazakhstan seeks to attract new investors with a governmental privatization plan aiming to increase the private sector’s representation in the country’s GDP from 25 to 60 percent.
“This will generate many opportunities in the gas, petrol, mineral and telecommunications sectors,” the vice-president of the Confederation of Employers and Industries of Spain’s International Relations Commission.
