This report complements and extends the work carried out by the OECD Eurasia Competitiveness Programme (ECP) on assessing the legal environment for business and investment in Central Asia in 2019-2020. The work was realised within the framework of the OECD Central Asia Initiative funded by the European Union (EU).
This report was prepared by the Eurasia Division of the OECD Global Relations and Co-operation Directorate (GRC), under the guidance of Mr William Tompson, Head of the OECD Eurasia Division, and Mr Grégory Lecomte, Head of the Central Asia Unit, and co-ordinated by Ms Céleste Laporte-Talamon, Policy Analyst, OECD Eurasia Division.
The author of this report is Ms Céleste Laporte-Talamon, Policy Analyst, OECD Eurasia Division, with significant contributions from Ms Amélie Schurich-Rey, Policy Analyst and Ms Ryskul Iskakova, Policy Analyst (Staff on Loan) in the same Division. Valuable analytical support was provided by Ms Shamima Oshurbekova, Mr Hugo Brisebard and Mr Daniel Poloyko, Junior Policy Analysts in the OECD Eurasia Division. Ms Anna Chahtahtinsky and Ms Elisa Larrakoetxea, Programme Administrators in the OECD Eurasia Division, provided unfailing administrative and logistical support.
The project would not have been possible without the continuous support of, and dialogue with, representatives of ministries and state agencies, the private sector, business associations, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, and other stakeholders across the countries covered.
In Kazakhstan, the OECD is particularly grateful for the support of the Minister of National Economy, Mr Alibek Kuantyrov; Vice-Minister of National Economy Mr Abzal Abdikarimov; Vice-Minister of Trade and Integration Mr Kairat Torebayev; the Director of the Department of Entrepreneurship Development Policy of the Ministry of National Economy Mr Erik Jambulov, the teams of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry, the State Revenue Committee, Kazakh Invest, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Atameken”, Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), the Economic Research Institute, QazIndustry and QazTrade.
In Kyrgyzstan, the OECD is grateful for the support of Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce of Kyrgyzstan Ms Ainura Usenbekova, the State Tax Service, the Ministry of Justice, the International Business Council and Mr Nurlan Musuraliev, Acting Business Ombudsman at the Business Ombudsman Institute of the Kyrgyz Republic.
In Tajikistan, the OECD is grateful for the leadership of the State Committee for Investment and State Property Management of Tajikistan, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, and Mr Maruf Solekhzoda, First Deputy Chairman of the Tax Committee under the Government of Tajikistan.
In Turkmenistan, the work was made possible thanks to contributions from the Ministry of Finance and Economy.
In Uzbekistan, we are grateful to a wide range of partners, notably Mr Shukhrat Vafaev and Mr Rustamkhon Azizov, respectively Director General and Deputy Director General of the Agency for Strategic Reforms under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as Mr Ibrahim Karamatov, Lead Consultant in the same Agency, Mr Aleksey Sim, Head of Investment Climate and Ratings Department at the Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade, Mr Golib Kholjigitov, Head of the Foreign Investors Council under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mr Umid Azizov, Head of International Tax Relations at the State Tax Committee, the Ministry of Justice, the Customs Committee, the IT Park and the Digital Economy Centre.
The OECD would also like to thank Ms Gulsara Arystankulova, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to France, and Mr Yerzhan Nessibkulov from the Embassy of Kazakhstan in France; Mr Ruslan Bekbolotov, First Secretary of the Embassy of Kyrgyzstan in France; Mr Manuchehr Jobir, former Counsellor at the Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan in France; Mr Maksat Chariev, Ambassador of Turkmenistan to France; and Mr Jamshid Saydazimov, First Secretary at the Embassy of Uzbekistan in France. The OECD is grateful for the support of its local consultants - Ms Ikbal Yusupova (Uzbekistan), Ms Svetlana Bairamova (Turkmenistan), Mr Bakyt Omurzakov (Kyrgyzstan), and Ms Veronika Grushevskaya (Tajikistan).
The present iteration of the report was greatly improved by the numerous comments received from colleagues within the OECD. We are particularly grateful for the comments and guidance from our reviewers Ms Mariarosa Lunati, Senior Advisor, Middle East Africa Division in the OECD’s Global Relations and Co-operation Directorate, Mr Arnault Prêtet, Project Manager from the Governance Reviews and Partnerships Division in the OECD’s Public Governance Directorate, and Mr Fernando Mistura, Policy Analyst in the Investment Division of the OECD’s Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs.
Finally, this work would not have been possible without continued financial and diplomatic support of the European Union. The OECD is grateful for the EU for their valuable support during working group events of the report in all Central Asian countries. In particular, the OECD would like to thank Mr Kestutis Jankauskas, Ambassador of the EU to Kazakhstan, Ms Marilyn Josefson, Ambassador of the EU to Kyrgyzstan, Mr Raimundas Karoblis, Ambassador of the EU to Tajikistan, Mr Diego Ruiz Alonso, Ambassador of the EU to Turkmenistan, and Ms Charlotte Adriaen, Ambassador of the European Union to Uzbekistan.