Kazakhstan needs to quintuple GDP to join developed nations

To join the Top 30 most competitive countries of the world Kazakhstan needs to bring its GDP per capita to $60 thousand, Tengrinews reports. Kazakhstan, “the country that was once finding it had to afford introduction of its own currency - the tenge - is now holding $100 billion in reserves. This is a record high amount. We need the bring our GDP per capita to at least $60 thousand to join the Top 30 club. To achieve this we have to maintain a sustainable economic growth,” President Nursultan Nazarbayev said at the Anniversary Forum of the Bolashak International Scholarship Program in Astana late this week. In 2012 Kazakhstan's GDP per capita amounted to $12 thousand. According to the President, Kazakhstan will become a country with medium-high GDP as soon as in 2015-2016. “We have improved our economy 16-fold. I think that in 2015-2016 Kazakhstan's GDP per capita will reach $20 thousand and the purchasing power parity will be even higher. This is the level of the countries with medium-high GDP rate. We are almost there, but achieving this rate is not enough, and we should not stop at that,” the President added. According to the President, it its crucial to focus on training technical experts, develop medicine and bio-technologies. “Things will be changing as time goes by, and not all the countries will be able to retain their current positions. The competition will be very intense, some countries will rise and some will fall. A champion should train to win the next Olympics and may never slumber, ” metaphorically concluded the President. By Baubek Konyrov