In an endeavour to strengthen economic ties between India and Kazakhstan, the Indian government has decided to set up Kazakhstan-India Entrepreneurship Development Centre (KIEDC) at Almaty. The project, which will be set up in association with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI), Ahmedabad, will lay special focus on SMEs.

Incidentally, this development comes in the wake of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Kazakh President Noorsultan Nazarbayev’s meeting in April this year, during which Mr Nazarbayev urged Indian companies to invest in Kazakhstan. As part of the meeting, both the dignitaries agreed upon the need for cooperation in some of the most SME-concentrated sectors such as agriculture, fertilisers and pharmaceuticals, among others.

In May 2010, external affairs minister SM Krishna had hailed Kazakhstan as India’s most important partner in Central Asia. The constitution of KIEDC is expected to encourage numerous Indian start-ups and existing SME owners to explore business opportunities in Kazakhstan. Notably, India and Kazakhstan also have the scope to collaborate in sectors such as biotechnology, automobile, mining, telecommunication and textiles.

Sreemita Bhattacharya