Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley has been invited to speak at the 2011 Kazakhstan-US Investment Forum in New York City on Dec. 7, 2011. Lt. Gov. Wrigley will participate in a panel discussion centered on the potential for US Business to take a major niche in Kazakhstan’s agriculture sector.
The overall theme of this year’s Kazakhstan-US Investment Forum is ‘Developing Strategic Industries of Kazakhstan’s Economy’. The full-day event will include keynote addresses from the likes of Karim Massimov, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, as well as panel discussions on topics ranging from agriculture to taxation in Kazakhstan. Lt. Gov. Wrigley will sit on a panel with Vice-Minister of Agriculture Assylzhan Mamytbekov, Lt. Gov. of Kansas Jeff Colyer, and senior representatives from Kellogg’s and Cargill.
Lt. Gov. Wrigley’s presence at the Kazakhstan US Investment Forum, along with NDTO Executive Director Dean Gorder, is another layer in the successful business relationship between the State of North Dakota and Kazakhstan. Since 2006, our two regions have been working together to cultivate a mutually-beneficial relationship based on agriculture; North Dakota company representatives, along with NDTO staff, have visited the country more than 20 times within the past five years to nurture this relationship.
While in New York, Lt. Gov. Wrigley will also meet with Kazakhstan officials, including Vice-Minister of Agriculture Assylzhan Mamytbekov, to discuss streamlining financial transactions between US and Kazakhstan companies. These discussions come at an integral time, as the country is celebrating high economic growth and the Government’s post-crisis commitment to modernization throughout Kazakhstan.
The 2011 Kazakhstan-US Investment Forum is hosted by the Republic of Kazakhstan and Erlan Idrissov, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United States, in conjunction with Newsdesk Media Inc. and Kazakhstan’s National Welfare Fund, Samruk Kazyna. The event will be held at the Waldof Astoria.