DP World-Kazakh deals among six signed

DP World now plans to acquire a 51% stake in the Khorgos Special Economic Zones and 49% in the Aktau SEZ

The UAE and Kazakhstan signed six agreements yesterday on various areas of investment and business sectors.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan attended the signing ceremony on the agreements.

Among the deals DP World and Kazakhstan signed two framework agreements relating to the acquisition, governance and management of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in Aktau and Khorgos.

DP World has been providing management services to the Port of Aktau, Kazakhstan’s main cargo and bulk terminal on the Caspian Sea, and Khorgos SEZ, which is strategically situated on the China-Kazakhstan border and has been acting as the primary transit point for trans-Eurasian cargo trains for more than four years.

DP World now plans to acquire a 51 per cent stake in the Khorgos SEZ and 49 per cent in the Aktau SEZ following the agreements signed yesterday, to play an important role in enhancing trade connectivity along the New Silk Route, handling all cargo types including hydrocarbons, containers and bulk.

The two agreements were signed between Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World and Kanat Alpysbayev, President of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) and Yeraly Tugzhanov, Governor of the Mangistau region of Kazakhstan.

An agreement on encouragement and mutual protection of investments was signed by Obiad Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, and Kazakh Minister of Investment and Development Kassymbek Zhenis Mahmudovich.

Other agreements include setting up a polyethylene plant and a project to produce polypropylene in Kazakhstan. The two agreements were signed by Suhail Bin Mohammad Faraj Al Mazroui, Minister of Energy and Industry, and Kanat Aldabergenovich Bozumbayev, Kazakhstan’s minister of energy

Another agreement was signed between the Expo 2020 Dubai Higher Committee and Kazakhstan’s government by Najeeb Mohammad Al Ali, Executive Director of the Expo 2020 Bureau, and Allen Chayzhunusov, Commissioner General of the Expo 2020 Dubai International Exhibition Kazakhstani Section.

An agreement was signed between the Expo 2020 Dubai Higher Committee and Kazakhstan’s government by the Executive Director of the Expo Bureau.