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05:29To bolster EU businesses on the ground in Kazakhstan, European countries have established local trade offices, like the Italian Kazakh Trade Association, which helps firms deepen their local partnerships.
05:43Let's bring in its president, Marco Beretta, who's joining us down the line.
05:47Mr. Beretta, good to have you with us.
05:51I'm very happy to have you with us.
05:53How easy is it for European SMEs to set up operations in Kazakhstan?
05:56Are there any challenges or opportunities in this regard?
05:59Obviously, for European SMEs, opening and running business in Kazakhstan, see some challenges like the legislation difference between Europe and Kazakhstan, the cultural difference, and the fact that the small and medium enterprise in the country has much more added value than foreign one in terms of economics.
06:22But Kazakhstan, in order to be attractive for small and medium enterprise in Europe, put in place a lot of leverage, like a special economic zone where taxation is easier and sometimes even zero for some years.
06:37The IFC for international law and that allowed small and medium enterprise to feel more comfortable in case of problem.
06:47Interesting. How do you see Kazakhstan evolve as a business hub for European companies in the next decade?
06:53Kazakhstan is changing its DNA into the industrialization and transformation of this natural resource into added value of finer products.
07:03This is for sure a booster for small and medium enterprise to come in the country and to work on this DNA change.
07:12Our association and other associations together with the government of Kazakhstan are organizing a supply chain forum.
07:19And this is one of the examples of how Kazakhstan can become a hub for the international SME.
07:26They need some support. They need to be driven into the process. They need to understand the ground where they want to make business.
07:35Mr. Beretta, thank you so much for joining us.
07:37Thank you very much.
07:38With a strategic position along the Europe-China middle corridor, a steady push for pro-business reforms and targeted incentives,
07:47Kazakhstan hopes to generate a new wave of SME success stories.
07:51Bye for now and join us in the next episode of East-West Connect.
