Deputy Chairman of the House Askar Shakirov held negotiations with Anna Bjerde, World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia region, where they discussed issues of Kazakhstan’s cooperation with this international organization. Senators Nurlan Kylyshbayev and Yedil Mamytbekov also took part in this meeting.
The Vice-Speaker noted the importance of the strategic partnership with the World Bank. At present, 12 projects worth $3.5 billion are being implemented in Kazakhstan with the help of the bank, in particular in the socio-economic and environmental areas.
According to Anna Bjerde, the main directions of the Bank’s activity in Kazakhstan are the promotion of inclusive growth, enhancing the human capital, increasing the efficiency of the public sector, and the institutional development of the country. In this context, technical assistance to the Government in improving result-oriented budgeting is of particular interest.
The interlocutors talked about the results of the climate summit in Glasgow, the plans of Kazakhstan to reduce GHG emissions by 15%, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. They also supported the initiative of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on the establishment in our country of the Regional Climate Hub of Central Asia for Sustainable Development.
The World Bank Vice President expressed interest in the prompt ratification by Kazakhstan of the Sustainable Livestock Development Program to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this connection, she underscored Kazakhstan’s leadership in combating climate change through improving tools for the development of the livestock industry.
“The issues of sustainable development, including the sound use of water resources, environmental protection, are of primary and widespread importance. Coping with the consequences of the Aral Sea disaster is a common problem of the Central Asian states and should be addressed both bilaterally and multilaterally,” the Vice-Speaker of the Senate said.
The environmental projects implemented due to the Bank’s support contributed to the increase of water level, recovery of fishery in the northern part of the Aral Sea, as well as environmental improvement in general.
The representative of the World Bank expressed their readiness to assist Kazakhstan in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and promoting initiatives to combat climate change.
(Press Office of the Senate, 74-72-27. Photo by E. Ukibayev)
