Kazakhstan adopts 12-year strategy of industrial-innovative development

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has signed a document determining the strategy of industrial-innovative development of the republic for 2003-2015.

Kazakh Economics Minister Kairat Kelimbetov told a news conference that the major task of the strategy was to secure such a level of the economy at which enterprises would "produce competitive and export-oriented goods in non-primary sectors." According to his estimate, to solve the task "the average annual growth rate in the processing industry should not be less than 8.4 percent." Kairat Kelimbetov believes that an active industrial-innovative policy will make it possible to increase Kazakhstan's GDP by 3.5-3.8 times by 2015.

The implementation of the new industrial policy would also allow for a considerable structural reform aimed at the production of high-tech and science-intense products with a high added value, the minister said.

According to him, there are plans to set up an investment fund, an innovations fund and an export insurance corporation in Kazakhstan to implement the strategy of industrial-innovative development.