Kazakhstan, UAE sign agreements totaling $900 mln in various economic sectors

ALMATY. Sept 20 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates have signed a number of bilateral agreements in various economic sectors totaling $900 million, the Kazakh government press office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The documents were signed during an official visit to the UAE by Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, who held talks with representatives of the country's business community.

In particular, export contracts to supply meat products to the UAE were signed between KazakhAgroExport LLP and Health Plus General Trading LLC and Optograd LLP and Laser Meat Trading Est, as well as a memorandum of understanding between KazStandart RSE and GulfTIC on cooperation regarding certification of Kazakh products for export to the Gulf countries.

Smailov met with Musabbeh Al Kaabi, who heads the Mubadala Group investment and development company, ranked 13th in the world sovereign funds rating with estimated assets worth $285 billion.

"The Kazakh government is continuing to improve the investment climate. Despite the crisis in the world, the inflow of foreign direct investment in our country increased 54% to $6.8 billion in the first quarter of this year," Smailov was quoted by the press office as saying.

Smailov also held talks with Mohamed Alsuwaidi, the CEO and managing director of ADQ, a wealth fund in Abu Dhabi and one of the largest holding companies in the region with direct and indirect investments in more than 90 companies.

In addition, Smailov held a meeting with Chairman of Ayana Holding Abdullah bin Lahej to discuss issues concerning the implementation of projects in the construction industry.

The official exchange rate for September 20 is 477.54 tenge /$1.