UNECE presents the Innovation Performance Review of Kazakhstan prepared with the support from EDB
Almaty, 23 April 2012. International experts from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), with the technical assistance from the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), have prepared the Innovation Performance Review of Kazakhstan. The report was presented by Rumen Dobrinsky, UNECE Director of Economic Cooperation and Integration, Mukhtar Tleuberdi, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to UNECE, and Talgat Mukanov, Director for New Technologies and Energy Efficiency at the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of the Republic of Kazakhstan, at the fifth session of the UNECE Team of Specialists on Innovation and Competitiveness Policies in Geneva this April.
«The review presents the achievements and challenges in the development of Kazakhstan’s system of innovations, the opportunities and recommendations for its improvement, and promising investment projects in the chemical, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, transport, telecommunications, agricultural and agricultural produce processing sectors,» Alexander Mironenkov, Head of Technical Assistance Department at EDB, said. «In particular, the review analyses links in the innovation activities and prospects for integration cooperation in the emerging Common Economic Space.»
As the review shows, scientific and technological cooperation in the region was developing in the most dynamic fashion in recent years. At present, the Interstate Programme for Innovation Cooperation between the Member Countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States until 2020 lists 120 projects, including nanotechnology, industrial infrastructure, and eleven in healthcare. However, this programme is not supported by a relevant financial institution, such as the EU Framework Programme, for the implementation of joint innovation projects and the improvement of cooperation between research institutions and scientists from different countries. In this respect, the experience of European countries in financing scientific and technological projects of an international level would be useful.
Kazakhstan is a proactive participant in the projects of the CIS International Scientific and Technological Centre. In 2010 four projects for a total of US 2.8 million (20% of the centre’s aggregate funding) were implemented in Kazakhstan, with the priority ones in the sectors of biotechnology and environmental protection.
The Innovation Performance Review of Kazakhstan continues the series of assessments of innovation policies in emerging countries initiated by the pilot Innovation Performance Review of Belarus, which was issued in 2011, also with EDB’s support.
The participants in the session noted that the conclusions and recommendations presented in the review would be useful for the development and implementation of the Strategy for Breakthrough Industrial and Innovation Development of Kazakhstan. On the whole, such studies contribute to innovation development and provide an opportunity to study and adopt the experience of other countries in this area.
The Innovation Performance Review of Kazakhstan is available at UNECE’s official website (https://www.unece.org/index.php?id=29546&L=0). An additional presentation of the report in Russian for government bodies, the expert community and the media will be held in Astana this summer.
Additional Information
The Eurasian Development Bank is an international financial institution founded by Russia and Kazakhstan in January 2006 with the mission to facilitate the development of market economies, sustainable economic growth and the expansion of mutual trade and other economic ties in its member states. EDB’s charter capital exceeds US $1.5 billion. The member states of the Bank are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Tajikistan. Read more at https://www.eabr.org.