Israel and Kazakhstan Sign R&D Agreement, MOU

December 22, 2016 | Following a historic meeting earlier this month in Kazakhstan between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayevsi, a new research and development (R&D) agreement between the two nations was signed. The Kazakh economy is the second-largest amongst Euro-Asian countries, after Russia. During Netanyahu’s visit to Kazakhstan, a business forum took place in the presence of the Israeli Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Mr. Bakytzhan Sagintayev. The forum was attended by leaders from 70 Israeli companies in the agriculture, water, health, HLS, energy and financial sectors, who accompanied Netanyahu on the official visit.

One of the most interesting contracts between the two countries is between Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) and Fintech Group Israel, which signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to commence collaboration in promoting the development of financial technologies (fintech) ecosystem in Kazakhstan and the region. The MOU identifies key areas of mutual cooperation towards building the “Digital Bridge“ between the two countries, which will create a direct connection between Astana and Israeli technology cluster and help enrich local human capital. Both parties expressed willingness to work together in order to brand AIFC as a leading fintech hub leveraging on the experience and know-how of their new Israeli partners.