Kazakhstan's new Constitution lays the foundation for the country's transition to a more diversified and investment-friendly economy, according to Nurbolat Kurmetuly, Director of the Center for Regional Studies and Quality of Life at the Economic Research Institute (ERI), in an interview with Qazinform News Agency.
Kurmetuly said one of the key economic effects of the new Basic Law will be the transition to what he described as a "rules-based economy," in which business development is built on stable and transparent conditions for all market participants. For businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, the key factor is not so much the tax rate as the stability of the rules.
Constitutional protection of private property and investors' rights creates a legal barrier against arbitrary interference, he said. The expert emphasized that stronger guarantees for the protection of private property and investments will help increase business confidence and enhance Kazakhstan's attractiveness to both domestic and foreign investors.
Kurmetuly also highlighted the Constitution's provision for a special legal framework for accelerated development cities. These territories will benefit from flexible regulations, preferential tax and customs conditions, and simplified administrative procedures.
They will become home to digital agglomerations, innovation clusters, and technology startups, he said. According to the expert, concentrating resources and providing special conditions in selected areas could accelerate innovation and create new centers of economic growth, with positive effects gradually spreading to neighboring regions.
The new Constitution also places particular emphasis on the development of human capital, which Kurmetuly described as essential to building a competitive economy. The new Constitution recognizes the individual, their life, rights, and freedoms as the highest value of the state, while identifying education, science, and innovation as strategic priorities, the director of the Center for Regional Studies and Quality of Life said.
In his view, systematic support for these areas will help improve labor productivity, develop modern skills, and strengthen the economy's long-term resilience. Kurmetuly also identified judicial reform as an important factor in promoting business activity. Strengthening judicial independence, ensuring the financial autonomy of the courts, and prohibiting the retroactive application of laws that worsen the legal position of citizens - all these measures reduce transaction costs, he said.