Kazakh Senate endorses establishment of Turkic Investment Fund

Kazakh Senate endorses establishment of Turkic Investment Fund

The Senate, an Upper House of the Kazakh Parliament, has endorsed the creation of the Turkic Investment Fund by approving the bill for the ratification of the corresponding agreement. This agreement was signed during the OTS Extraordinary Summit in Ankara in March of this year. Alongside Kazakhstan, the fund’s founders include Azerbaijan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Its authorized capital is expected to be $500 million. It will be divided into 10,000 shares with a par value of $50,000 each.

“The paid-up shares worth $350 million represent an equal investment from the OTS member states, amounting  to $70 million each. If necessary, the fund can request additional funding from the participants in the event of an expanding project portfolio. The agreement also provides for the possibility of including new member states and attracting additional funds from international financial organizations. Hungary, as an observer country, has recently announced its readiness to invest a minimum of $100 million once the agreement is ratified by all countries,” Abzal Abdikarimov, Kazakh Vice Minister of National Economy, said.

The fund will perform several important functions, including supporting the growth of intraregional trade and financing small and medium-sized business projects. It bears noting that its capital will primarily be used to support and develop projects in areas of mutual interest to all participating countries. These include industrial production, infrastructure, transport and logistics, agriculture, tourism, and other sectors.

“First of all, Kazakhstan is planning to put forth initiatives in the sphere of development of international transport corridors, for example, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. These are projects for constructing a container hub, expanding the Kuryk port, and so on. We believe that these projects have a positive impact on the development of international cooperation and trade,” Abdikarimov added.