The French government has offered to the Kazakhstani government to provide financial support and technical expertise to the energy transition and the social development policy of the country. This would be managed by AFD Group, the organization that implements France’s sustainable development and international solidarity policy. AFD Group will be able to finance new infrastructure, encourage public policy reform and support the private sector.
AFD Group will notably support the implementation of the Paris Agreement in the country, as well as the ambitious objectives of the Kazakhstani government to reduce CO2 emissions and reach carbon neutrality by 2060. The signing of this agreement took place during the visit of the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron to Kazakhstan.
AFD plans to provide its financial and technical expertise in the fields of health and social protection, and water, sanitation and irrigation, through financing and technical support to public institutions. Missions of AFD staff will soon be organized to identify projects in these sectors.
Proparco, a subsidiary of AFD Group, plans to support the Kazakhstani private sector, including financial institutions and energy, microfinance and agriculture companies, through loans.
Expertise France, the French inter-ministerial agency for international technical cooperation and entity of AFD Group, will participate in the co-construction of technical cooperation projects with the Kazakhstani authorities, to support administrations in strengthening their public policies. Two international technical experts are already advising the Ministries of Health and Science and Higher Education.
Find out more about AFD Group's activity in Kazakhstan
Rémy Rioux, Chief Executive Officer of AFD Group, said: “I am delighted to see the intergovernmental agreement being signed today, a first achievement and a milestone in our relationship with Kazakhstan. AFD Group agents will soon come to Astana to identify projects to support. These partnerships with Kazakhstani public and private stakeholders will contribute to the preservation of the environment and the reduction of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, while contributing to improving the living conditions of the population.”
Didier Canesse, Ambassador of France to Kazakhstan, added: "The arrival of AFD Group is very good news, both for Kazakhstan’s development trajectory and for Franco-Kazakhstani relations. I am pleased to see this first step today and I look forward to seeing the first projects materialize in the coming months.”
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