Kazakhstan Secures $1.1 Billion Investment from Islamic Development Bank

Jeddah hosted a bilateral meeting between Kazakh government official, advisor to the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Nurlan Baibazarov and President of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser.

During the talks, the sides discussed the potential for deepening cooperation in financing priority infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan, The Caspian Post reports, citing Kazinform.

Special attention was placed to the development of engineering and transport infrastructure in special economic and industrial zones. To that end, agreement was reached to attract financing of up to 1.1 billion US dollars from the IDB.

In addition, a letter of intent between the Kazakh government and the IDB to support Kazakhstan’s special economic and industrial zones was signed.

It is expected that the realization of this partnership will give a powerful impetus to the country’s infrastructure development, with up to 1.6 trillion tenge in investment and creation of over 16,000 jobs, thus contributing to accelerated industrialization and economic diversification of Kazakhstan.

This initiative is a continuation of the course set out in the Framework Program Agreement on strategic cooperation between the Kazakh government and the IDB signed on June 25, 2024. Under this Agreement, the sides confirmed their intention to implement investment projects worth over 8 billion US dollars.

The first stage of the Agreement provides for a project for development of climate resilient water resources to the amount of 1.1 billion US dollars, the largest ever made by the IDB, to build and reconstruct eight reservoirs and modernize 115 irrigation channels spanning over 3,600 km.

The meeting also discussed the key areas of cooperation in Islamic financing, including attraction of Islamic investment with the participation of the Kazakhstan Development Bank.