Kazakhstan in 2024: Economic Development Trends

In 2024, despite formally good economic growth, Kazakhstan experienced negative trends such as rising inflation, reduced oil export revenues, the threat of a budget crisis resulting from a shortfall in tax revenues to the state treasury, and a decrease in the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI). In order to alleviate the budget crisis, the country's leadership undertook a tax reform aimed at increasing revenues to the national budget. Under these conditions, expanding investment cooperation has become one of the main priorities of Kazakhstan's foreign policy. The country's leading investors, Russia and the European Union, have expressed their willingness to invest in Kazakhstan's economy, in particular in the transport sector, mining, and energy. In the context of increasing competition between Russia and the West in Central Asia, Kazakhstan's multi-vector foreign policy allows the country to derive significant benefits from the rivalry of its economic partners, including in the field of investment cooperation.