Kazakhstan Proposes World Bank Conference on Sustainable Economic Growth

Kazakhstan has put forward an initiative to host a global conference on sustainable economic growth under the auspices of the World Bank. The proposal was presented by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin during a roundtable discussion titled "Kazakhstan on the Wave of Reforms" held at the World Bank headquarters in Washington.

Zhumangarin outlined the country's ongoing comprehensive reforms aimed at creating conditions for stable and high-quality economic expansion. "We are implementing a strategy of proactive economic growth focused on expanding the investment base, developing new industries, and supporting export-oriented sectors," he stated. He emphasized that this is being reinforced by strengthening institutional foundations through reforms in fiscal policy, the corporate sector, investment regulations, and infrastructure development.

The Kazakh economy has demonstrated robust performance in recent years. Annual GDP growth has consistently exceeded 5%, reaching 6.5% in 2025. Goods production increased by 8.7%, while the services sector grew by 5.2%. Investment remains a key driver; capital investments rose by 13% in 2025 to $43.6 billion, with gross foreign direct investment inflows reaching $20.5 billion.

Growth momentum continued into 2026, with first-quarter GDP expanding by 3% despite temporary declines in oil production due to operational incidents and pipeline constraints. This growth was supported by manufacturing (8.5%), transport (12.8%), and construction (14.8%).

The country maintains strong macroeconomic stability. International reserves increased by 23.8% since early 2025 to $129.5 billion, including $62.9 billion in National Fund assets. Kazakhstan also preserves a low public debt level, stable at around 25% of GDP for over a decade; as of January 1, 2026, it stood at approximately $73 billion or 22.8% of GDP.

A central government focus is economic diversification away from raw materials towards higher value-added sectors like manufacturing and high-tech industries.

"The policy of proactive economic growth implies a transition from passively attracting investments to actively forming and launching projects," noted Vice-Prime Minister Zhumangarin.

The share of processing industries in GDP increased from 11.3% in 2010 to 12.7% in 2025, while the extractive sector's share nearly halved from 19.5% to 11.9%. Kazakhstan has also improved its position in international rankings, climbing from 87th to 55th place in the Economic Complexity Index between 2020 and 2024.

The government aims to increase investment's share of GDP to 23% by 2029, which would attract an additional $120 billion, bringing total investments over five years to around $400 billion. Priority areas include raw material processing, agribusiness, metallurgy, chemicals, petrochemicals, gas industry expansion, pharmaceuticals, and high-value segments within agriculture.

A specific initiative involves developing the new city of Alatau as a special growth hub with its own management regime and financial model featuring tax incentives and enhanced investor guarantees.

The World Bank representatives present at the discussion expressed support for Kazakhstan's reform agenda while highlighting the importance of balancing growth rates with economic capacity and carefully managing productivity dynamics and inflationary risks.