Suma Chakrabarti to co-chair Foreign Investors’ Council dedicated to sustainable energy and sign new investments
EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti is to visit Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on 22-23 June to co-chair the meeting of the Foreign Investors’ Council.
He will meet the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and hold meetings with Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Bakhytzhan Sagintayev, other senior officials and representatives of the business community.
The 30th plenary session of the Foreign Investors’ Council (FIC) will gather on 22 June in Astana to discuss the topic “New Energy”. The FIC is chaired by the presidents of Kazakhstan and the EBRD. In his opening remarks, President Chakrabarti will point out the importance of green and renewable energy investments where the Bank is a recognised leader in its countries of operations.
Natalia Khanjenkova, EBRD Managing Director, Central Asia and Russia, and Agris Preimanis, EBRD Director, Kazakhstan, will also attend the FIC.
Following the meeting, on 23 June President Chakrabarti will deliver a speech at Astana’s Nazarbayev University about “Kazakhstan and Central Asia: the transition to effective market economies”. The keynote address will discuss the direction of development for Central Asia and the role of the youth.
President Chakrabarti’s visit will also provide the opportunity to sign several agreements on future projects and areas of cooperation underlining the Bank’s commitment to Kazakhstan. The signings will range from renewable energy investments to public utility renovations, sustainable natural resources development, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises and other vital areas.
The President’s visit will conclude two weeks of EBRD participation in events held in parallel with the Astana Expo 2017. The Bank attended the Ministerial Conference on Energy; the 8th Sustainable Energy Forum and the Astana Economic Forum, with a delegation led by EBRD managing directors Nandita Parshad and Mattia Romani.
In the first three days of Expo, senior EBRD representatives signed projects to double the size of the first large-scale solar plant in Kazakhstan, Burnoye Solar-2, and invest in the first project under the new inclusion programme for energy and natural resources, ShalkiyaZinc. The EBRD is the largest financier and a staunch supporter of reform in the area of renewable energy, both in Kazakhstan and its entire region.
To date, the EBRD has invested €7.3 billion in various sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy, with a focus on non-oil and gas sectors, where it is the largest institutional investor. Close to €1.65 billion has been invested in sustainable energy and resource projects; one of the latest examples of cooperation in this area is a US$ 180 million programme to rehabilitate irrigation systems in three regions of Kazakhstan.