President Nazarbayev,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon. I’m delighted to be here in Astana.

In our lifetimes, the global economy has been transformed by technological innovation and the emergence of new economic powers. And this process of change shows no sign of slowing. The global economy continues to evolve.

Around the world, countries are assessing what they need to do in order to compete and succeed in this new scenario.

And it should come as no surprise that this is high on the agenda here in Central Asia.

Two thousand years ago the caravans of the Silk Road made their way through the Kazakh steppe, as they established the early trading routes between East and West.

But the significance of the region as an economic hub is not just something consigned to the history books. Today, a “New Silk Road” economic belt is taking shape, aiming to better connect Asia with Europe. It is rebuilding traditional links and improving connectivity through improved infrastructure.

And, of course, with the largest economy and the largest territory in Central Asia, Kazakhstan is once again at the heart of this initiative.

The country is working to improve its transport and logistics infrastructure — with the modernization of the Khorgos-Aktau railway, for example, and the Khorgos Gateway dry port.

Soft infrastructure is important too. And the World Bank’s latest “ease of doing business” study cited Kazakhstan as the country which had adopted the most pro-business measures during the previous year. 

So I think it’s clear that Kazakhstan has the drive to grow and prosper in this new economic reality.

And, of course, the country recently took another important step in this direction when, just last year, it became the 162nd member of the World Trade Organization.

Joining the WTO — and its system of global trade rules — marks an important milestone for Kazakhstan.

The negotiations took almost 20 years to complete and involved some bold and ambitious reforms. But the process was very positive. And it sent a message to the world that Kazakhstan is open for business.

When I welcomed President Nazarbayev to Geneva last year to mark Kazakhstan’s WTO membership he said:

“We have come a long way to integrate Kazakhstan’s economy into the global market. We do not intend to stop there.”

I warmly welcome that sentiment. And I think there are three clear ways in which we can continue to support Kazakhstan’s economic goals.

First, we can help by providing a rules-based system in which you can do business and compete in an open and transparent way — a system where everyone is subject to basic rules and principles — and a system in which Kazakhstan has a seat at the table, and a voice in the debate, equal to that of everyone else.

Second we can support Kazakhstan by implementing some of the major reforms to the trading system that the WTO has agreed over the last two years.

One very important reform is the Trade Facilitation Agreement, which will reduce Kazakhstan’s trade costs by up to 15%. This would make a huge difference to facilitate regional integration, especially for a landlocked country such as this. And I was delighted to receive the country’s ratification of the Agreement from Prime Minister Karim Massimov earlier today.

Third, we can support Kazakhstan by delivering more trade agreements in the future.

It is clear that all WTO members want to deliver on the big outstanding issues, such as domestic subsidies in agriculture, and improved market access for agricultural produce, industrial goods and services. Progress here will be tough, but we will keep pushing.

In addition, some members would like to start discussing other issues as well. A range of ideas have been suggested — such as steps on small and medium sized-enterprises, e-commerce, investment facilitation and private standards, to name just a few.

In each of these areas, members have not yet gone into detail on what they would like to discuss under those headings. More work will be needed to explore these points.

But the debate has already started — and I can’t overemphasize how important it could be. It could determine the shape of global trade talks for years to come.

In this context of a more open and flexible agenda for discussions, I must underline a very important point.

Trade is sometimes identified as an economic activity that only favours the big companies. While this is clearly not true, we cannot deny that the benefits of trade don’t always reach the small players. Trading internationally is much more costly and difficult for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises — the so-called MSMEs. We must change this.

These companies are responsible for the largest share of employment opportunities in most economies. In some developing countries, they employ around 90% of the workforce.

We have an opportunity to negotiate rules that facilitate the participation of MSMEs in global trade flows. Many WTO members are working in this direction.

E-commerce has been mentioned as an avenue to promote the integration of MSMEs into global trade flows. However, the reality is that, if we just cross our arms and do nothing, we may see the opposite effect. E-commerce may actually promote the concentration of opportunities for big companies and services suppliers.

We cannot allow this to happen. We must work so that new technologies facilitate the participation of small players in digital trade and in the global value chains. We must ensure that, through multilateral rules, MSMEs will benefit from harmonized procedures, improved connectivity, and reduced operational costs.

In short, we must ensure that small suppliers can market their products — goods or services — in a timely fashion, with competitive prices and reliable customer support.

Only then will consumers have full confidence in buying from MSMEs in the digital environment.

So, to conclude, I think the WTO today offers some exciting opportunities.

Kazakhstan has a chance to ensure that action is taken on the issues that matter most to the country.

So I urge you to get engaged — and stay engaged. Your voice will be very important in this debate.

I look forward to working with the Government, and all of you, in ensuring that Kazakhstan is ready to prosper in the new economic reality.

Thank you.