The Astana Finance Days conference featured a plenary session with well-known economists, heads of international financial organisations, and politicians. The speakers highlighted structural reforms, action consolidation, enhancing citizen welfare, and social responsibility.

From June 27 to 29, Nur-Sultan is hosting the international conference Astana Finance Days 2022. Key topics include global and regional growth, social responsibility, and sustainable development.

A plenary session titled “Sustainability and social responsibility: drivers of sustainable economic growth in the “New Kazakhstan” was held as part of the conference, during which well-known economists, heads of global financial institutions, and politicians discussed economic recovery challenges.

The plenary session began with a video greeting from Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, during which he expressed optimism that the consequence of Astana Finance Days 2022 would be the production of new ideas and tools necessary to construct a “New Kazakhstan.”

The head of state set the task for the country of achieving proportional economic growth while improving residents’ well-being. To do this, business circles are required to not only quickly adjust to changing game rules and conditions, but also to demonstrate a high level of social responsibility.

“The international community is experiencing unparalleled geopolitical and economic turmoil. As a result, global socioeconomic, food, and energy security concerns have worsened, with the greatest detrimental effects for the execution of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development approved in 2015,” Tokayev added.

The year 2022 has become a time of global changes, bringing with it new difficulties and challenges. The coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis, as well as geopolitical conflicts, have stifled entire regions’ development and expanded the gap between countries. In these realities, Kazakhstan requires reforms in order to achieve long-term growth.

“The coronavirus epidemic has become a societal upheaval, causing a drop in income and consumer demand. In this context, the January protests highlighted the need for structural change. And the president launched a massive political reform that was put to a vote. It is critical that the reform did not aim to strengthen the president's position, but rather to delegate some authorities to parliament,” said AIFC Governor Kairat Kelimbetov.

Dr. Indermit Gill, World Bank Group Vice President for Equitable Growth and Financial Institutions, emphasised the importance of economic diversification in achieving inclusive, sustainable growth. Kazakhstan, in particular, with great potential in the fields of energy, agriculture, and mining, can play an essential role in resolving crucial global and regional issues.

Dr. Gill also underlined that the state must trust its citizenry in order to implement reforms. The vote on June 5th is certainly a clear proof of such trust and, as such, the cornerstone to successful social transformation.