Oil and gas sector must become flagman of economic development - SamrukKazyna Chairman

According to him, strategy of traditional specialization based on oil and sector is the most appropriate strategy of accelerated modernization of economy.  

"As the world experience shows, possessing mineral resources is always considered as a resource curse. In accordance with this concept, the countries with an abundance of natural resources demonstrate low paces of economic development in long-term outlook. However, to my mind, the impact of the primary sector on economic development can be both positive and negative", Kelimbetov said.

The Chairman of  SamrukKazyna considers everything depends on the type of connection of the primary sector with economy.

"Resource curse is not an unavoidable phenomenon, it is revealed mostly in those countries which are not able to pursue efficient policy on natural resources management. In my opinion, oil and gas industry will become a locomotive of the economic growth in the nearest time in Kazakhstan and long-term demand for oil and oil prices correspondingly will grow, as the experts forecast", he noted.

Alongside, K. Kelimbetov considers necessary to implement a new policy in this direction which will solve three interrelated objectives. The first objective is development of oil and gas industry, the second one is transition to production with high added value or diversification of the first type and the last objective is diversification of the second type. The high priority challenge on the way of modernization is turning the oil and gas industry from a locomotive of economic growth to a flagman of economic development, he stressed.