Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin held a meeting with the President of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Muhammad Al Jasser, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing the Government of Kazakhstan. Welcoming the head of the IsDB, Serik Zhumangarin acknowledged Al Jasser’s personal contribution to strengthening the partnership with Kazakhstan and emphasized that the visit reflects the strategic nature of cooperation between the country and the Islamic Development Bank.
Over the past three years, our financial cooperation has reached a fundamentally new level. In 2024, we launched a large-scale program for the construction and reconstruction of water infrastructure facilities with investments totaling 1.1 billion US dollars. Since February of this year, we have begun implementing the Framework Agreement to attract 1.3 billion US dollars for the development of infrastructure in special economic and industrial zones.
In addition, financing is being explored for the Kyzylorda-Saksaulsk transport project and the Kyzylorda bypass road project, the Deputy Prime Minister said. Kazakhstan and the Islamic Development Bank are currently developing a new Partnership Strategy for 2027-2032, which will define the key priorities for future cooperation.
In his turn, IsDB President Muhammad Al Jasser noted that the potential for cooperation extends well beyond the projects already underway. Over the years, our specialists have established effective cooperation that enables us to expand our project portfolio. The Islamic Development Bank has sufficient flexibility to find solutions to many of the challenges faced by its member countries.
At the same time, we place special emphasis on strengthening national capacity by using countries’ own systems to prepare and implement projects. When a country is able to carry out projects largely through its own capabilities, it demonstrates the maturity of its institutions and its sustainable development.
I am confident that together with Kazakhstan we can achieve much more, he stressed. Al Jasser also emphasized that the Islamic Development Bank is not merely a financial institution but an integrated group operating under a "one-stop shop" model. Through its specialized entities, the group provides comprehensive project support by combining long-term project financing, insurance services, and trade finance instruments.
During the meeting, Zhumangarin proposed considering the opening of an additional IsDB office in Astana. According to him, the Bank’s regional hub in Almaty has been successfully fulfilling its role, but the significant expansion of cooperation requires closer engagement with central government agencies, particularly on the development of Islamic finance mechanisms.
We expect that the Islamic Development Bank’s extensive expertise will continue to help us jointly implement projects aimed at developing infrastructure, enhancing food security, improving the management of water and other natural resources, and introducing modern and green technologies, the Deputy Prime Minister said.
Following the meeting, the sides exchanged signed copies of the Forward Leasing Agreement for the development of infrastructure in special economic and industrial zones. According to the Government of Kazakhstan, the country has been a member of the Islamic Development Bank since 1995.
The IsDB Regional Office in Almaty, opened in 1997, coordinates the Bank’s activities in Eastern Europe, the CIS, Mongolia, and China. Between 1997 and 2026, IsDB financing and technical assistance for projects in Kazakhstan exceeded 4.2 billion US dollars. Ongoing joint projects cover the water, transport, and industrial sectors, while a new Kazakhstan-IsDB Partnership Strategy for 2027-2032 is currently under development.