On 27 June 2023, in the framework of the EU-funded Central Asia Invest programme, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) organised a workshop to assess progress in improving the legal environment for business in Kazakhstan. This follows a study that the Organisation conducted in 2019-2020 on Improving the Legal Environment for Business and Investment in Central Asia. The event was held in co-operation with the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the European Union, donor to the project.
The seminar allowed the OECD team to share initial thoughts on progress made in Kazakhstan since 2020 and to address participants’ questions and comments on the OECD’s preliminary findings along three policy dimensions: the operational environment for businesses, contract enforcement, and trade facilitation. Mr Johannes Baur, Head of Co-operation at the EU Delegation to the Republic of Kazakhstan, highlighted the positive trend in EU-Kazakhstan co-operation, including trade and investment, and mentioned the importance of a healthy business climate to further attract European investments in Kazakhstan. Mr Erik Jambulov, Director of the Department of Entrepreneurship Development Policy, described the government’s recent efforts to reduce the bureaucratic burden on firms through a new regulatory policy ‘’from a clean slate’’, which includes a new consolidated registry of mandatory requirements, the implementation of the one-in, two-out concept when introducing new legislation, and the shift from penalty measures to warning and prevention when performing control procedures. The seminar involved lively discussions from representatives of business associations, private companies and Atameken, which informed participants about the development of an index of administrative burden on firms.
Participants were encouraged to share their inputs on the OECD’s preliminary findings ahead of publication of the final report in December 2023, at the OECD’s regular ministerial event for the region, OECD Eurasia Week, in Paris, France.