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ASTANA – Within the aftermath of the pandemic and amidst the complicated geopolitical backdrop within the area, it was an opportune time to incentivize enterprise representatives all over the world to speculate and do enterprise in Kazakhstan, together with within the promising sectors of agriculture and tourism, stated Denis Van den Weghe, Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Belgium in Kazakhstan and Chairman of the Society of Honorary Consuls (SHC) in an interview with The Astana Instances.
Denis Van den Weghe
With that purpose in thoughts, the Congress of Honorary Consuls was held in Almaty on Sept. 29 – Oct. 2 for the third time in Kazakhstan and for the primary time since COVID-19. Van den Weghe spoke concerning the occasion and the position of the SHC in connecting aspiring enterprise homeowners all over the world.
Society of Honorary Consuls
Based underneath the initiative of Van den Weghe in 2018, the SHC gathers honorary consuls accredited in Kazakhstan and Kazakh honorary consuls overseas underneath one umbrella. They act as what Van den Weghe calls “financial ambassadors” establishing direct ties between enterprise circles.
“The linking issue is Kazakhstan. Both they characterize Kazakhstan overseas, or they characterize different nations in Kazakhstan. So there’s an apparent change of data of expertise between these two worlds,” he stated.
Round 250 folks in Kazakhstan and overseas are potential members of this society, and half of them actively take part in its initiatives.
The SHC can be a member of the World Federation of Consuls (FICAC) with headquarters in Brussels which has round 100 member associations, bringing collectively all honorary consuls all over the world.
What makes the SHC distinctive and handy for enterprise folks worldwide, in keeping with Van den Weghe, is that members of the society have “nearly computerized belief amongst one another as honorary consuls.”
The accountable state companies of each sending and receiving nations do a radical background test earlier than permitting somebody to change into an honorary consul. This implies an honorary consul is “an honorable particular person in enterprise.” “So if you happen to take a enterprise card of an honorary consul, you recognize it’s the particular person you’ll be able to belief,” stated Van den Weghe.
Congress of Honorary Consuls
Amid the journey difficulties, this 12 months the Congress of Honorary Consuls gathered contributors from all around the world. The worldwide scope included contributors from Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Paraguay, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Mozambique, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Türkiye, Russia, Georgia, Lithuania, India, and Pakistan, amongst different nations.
The Congress of Honorary Consuls gathered contributors from all around the world in Almaty. Photograph credit score: private archive.
“The principle thought was that we needed to refresh folks’s minds on the funding alternatives in Kazakhstan and on the enterprise local weather as a complete. We needed to emphasise the reform agenda of President Tokayev and the renewed views, extra pro-business approaches,” stated Van der Weghe.
One of many key ideas of the congress is to advertise networking amongst honorary consuls worldwide and to discover a win-win answer for all actors — overseas enterprise folks, native companies, and state our bodies.
“It’s about financial diplomacy the place ambassadors attempt to have an honorary consul which is an individual who is aware of the native market very effectively to assist them in attaining their objectives, principally financial, commerce, and funding objectives. So we give attention to the change of data and expertise between our members,” stated Van den Weghe.
The occasion’s program included formal working classes, a golf event, gala dinner, cultural tour, and mountain tour – all designed to reap the simplest technique to change views, concepts and expertise amongst enterprise representatives.
This time the convention additionally doubled the variety of days, making it a four-day occasion to provide sufficient alternative for honorary consuls coming in from far-off.
Promising sectors of Kazakhstan’s economic system
As Kazakhstan seeks to maneuver away from its heavy dependence on its conventional oil and fuel and mining sector, creating different sectors turns into a precedence.
“We emphasised the reforms which have been initiated [by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev] among the many viewers and we highlighted the areas the place there are enterprise alternatives,” stated Van den Weghe.
Agriculture might be one of many key areas in Kazakhstan’s financial diversification agenda, in keeping with him.
“Agriculture is a really troublesome space, you want a number of good expertise to make use of the land correctly and in the simplest method,” stated Van den Weghe. “However figuring out that Kazakhstan is the ninth largest nation when it comes to landmass, we have to do one thing with this land.”
One other space the place Van den Weghe sees essentially the most potential for progress is tourism, which closely depends on what one can say is the best asset of any nation – the folks.
Van den Weghe gave the examples of Kyrgyzstan and Georgia, that are well-known for his or her heat hospitality and delightful nature– two essential features that draw vacationers to these nations time and again, in addition to the truth that they’ve a well-developed tourism infrastructure.
Kazakhstan may market the choices of native folks and nature to world vacationers who’re eager to see new locations.
Apart from, tourism and funding go hand in hand, in keeping with Van den Weghe.
“There are at all times very rich folks amongst among the vacationers and once they see the nation and the probabilities, they begin considering enterprise. So if they arrive as soon as with their household or with their buddies as vacationers, the subsequent time they arrive, they’ll take into consideration the right way to make investments and achieve some profit from the financial prosperity of the nation. It’s regular,” he stated.
A part of the rationale the congress was held in Almaty is that it supplied a distinct sightseeing alternative and allowed to point out how various Kazakhstan is.
“Positively all people left with a really optimistic feeling and the sensation that they need to do extra of those occasions,” stated Van den Weghe.
“We’re receiving cellphone calls, and thanks letters from all around the world, from people who find themselves slowly returning to their dwelling nations and are again within the workplace. A few of them are giving some concepts for the long run: what they want to see, what they’re considering of. As soon as we collect all of this, we can create a full image of what we needs to be doing, when and the place subsequent,” he added.
Van den Weghe stated it’s too early to completely consider the end result of the congress, because the “impact shouldn’t be quick, it’s moderately in waves.”
“There’ll now be waves of curiosity when folks will begin interacting, researching, and requesting some extra info,” he stated. “A very powerful factor is their private impressions. In the event that they stated to their buddies or acquaintances again of their dwelling counties what sort of alternatives they’ve seen, it will work higher than a promotional video or a presentation. It’s a private opinion from an individual you belief.”
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