The 6th plenary meeting of the Kazakh-Canadian Business Council was held in Toronto (Canada) as part of the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference 2024.
The business council was co-chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of NAC Kazatomprom JSC Meirzhan Yussupov on the Kazakh side, and the President of Cameco Corporation Tim Gitzel on the Canadian side.
While anticipating the plenary meeting, three working groups were held in January and February on the issues of mining and metallurgical complex, agriculture and education, in which more than 250 people participated. During the meetings, representatives of government agencies and businesses of the two countries discussed current problems, ways to solve them, identified priority areas of cooperation and promising projects for developing mutual trade and attracting investments.
The plenary session was attended by more than 150 participants representing the Canadian and Kazakh business communities. Issues such as energy security, plans to achieve carbon neutrality, ESG, multilateral trade, attracting investment, education and others were discussed during the business council.
The Kazakh delegation was led by the Minister of Industry and Construction of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kanat Sharlapayev, the Canadian delegation was led by the Minister of International Development of Canada Ahmed Hussen.
During the first panel discussion, council co-chairs Meirzhan Yussupov and Tim Gitzel discussed mutual cooperation and further development of the uranium industry, energy security and environmental sustainability issues.
The representatives of NC Kazakh Invest JSC, Export Development Canada and the Government of the Canadian province of Alberta, spoke at the event.
A separate session was dedicated to the education sector, where the Vice Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan Darkhan Ahmed-Zaki presented Kazakhstan’s plans to create an academic hub of higher education.
In addition, Kazatomprom’s management held meetings with Canadian partners and potential clients as part of the business council.
Kazatomprom and Cameco have been linked by many years of successful cooperation, which began with the creation of joint uranium mining venture Inkai in the Turkestan region in 1996. From the very beginning of its activities, the joint venture has demonstrated a high level of corporate social responsibility, adhering to the best safety standards and corporate culture. In 2020-2022, JV Inkai LLP implemented social projects worth KZT 69 million, and transferred KZT 193 million to the budget of the Turkestan region for the socio-economic development of the region.
The Kazakh-Canadian Business Council has become a pivotal platform for strengthening the partnership between Kazakhstan and Canada. Kazatomprom will continue this work with the aim of diversifying areas of cooperation and developing the economies of the two countries.
The plenary session was supported by the embassies of Kazakhstan and Canada and the Canada Eurasia Chamber of Commerce (CECC).
