As part of participation in the plenary session of the Majilis of Kazakhstan Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov spoke about the work on servicing and further reduction of debt obligations of the state.  

Alikhan Smailov noted that the Presidential Decree approved a special Concept of public finance management until 2030. 

"This is the first time such a comprehensive document has been adopted. It sets rather strict covenants (obligations) on financial management, including public debt management. And the Government will adhere to these covenants," the Prime Minister said. 

According to him, along with this, the Government is taking a number of measures to reduce the debt obligations of Kazakhstan. First, it is the reduction of the budget deficit. 

"Recently we had a budget deficit of about 3% of GDP. This year it has been reduced to 2.7% of GDP, and further by 2026 it will be brought down to 2.3% of GDP. This will allow us to limit new borrowings and reduce the rate of debt growth," Alikhan Smailov noted. 

Secondly, it is to increase own revenues of the state budget. For this purpose, the work on digitalization of tax and customs administration will be continued.

"Third, it is the inclusion of securities of the Ministry of Finance in international indices. This will attract international investors to the stock market to reduce the price of borrowing and, accordingly, the cost of debt servicing," the Prime Minister said. 

Alikhan Smailov added that the Government has adopted a policy of borrowing mainly in the domestic market to remove excessive currency risks and further reduce debt servicing costs.

"We regularly discuss all these measures in the Government. We make sure that all covenants are observed. Within the framework of the new Budget Code, we also plan to provide Parliament with analytical information on debt management," he concluded.

#Alikhan Smailov #The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan #Finance