Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia plan to establish joint Islamic bank
ASTANA. KAZINFORM - Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia agree on the establishment of an Islamic bank or a fund to finance projects, this has been announced by Minister for Investment and Development of Kazakhstan Asset Issekeshev at today's joint business forum in Astana.
"We have an agreement with the Minister (Tawfiq Al-Rabiafor-Minister for Trade and Industry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) that we will work with Saudi businessmen, possibly to establish an Islamic bank or a fund. We have a major partner in the face of the Islamic Development Bank which finances trading operations and investment projects," said Mr.Issekeshev.
The Minister described the level of cooperation between the two states as low. "We are confident that in the near future we will be able to refract this trend, develop appropriate economic program," he said. Minister Asset Issekeshev noted that Kazakhstan has become an economically attractive country and the leader in the Central Asian region in terms of economic reforms.