ESCAP forecast Kazakhstan’s economy growth at 6.2% in 2011

Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific estimates 2011 Kazakhstan’s economy growth at 6.2%, said Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Secretary of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). “After the moderate 1.2% in 2009, the economy growth bounced back up to 7% in 2010 against the backdrop of favorable external economic conditions (…) The economy is set to grow by 6.2% in 2010”, Noeleen Heyzer said today, May 5, in Astana when presenting the annual ESCAP report on the economic condition of the region. She pointed out that “strong response of the Government was vital to stabilize the banking sector and secure the economy upturn”. “Restored global demand for oil and other minerals led to greater efficiency of the industrial production that saw a growth of 10% in 2010. However, the agriculture sector saw a significant decline”, she said. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is the regional development arm of the United Nations for the Asia-Pacific region. With a membership of 62 Governments, 58 of which are in the region, and a geographical scope that stretches from Turkey in the west to the Pacific island nation of Kiribati in the east, and from the Russian Federation in the north to New Zealand in the south, ESCAP is the most comprehensive of the United Nations five regional commissions. It is also the largest United Nations body serving the Asia-Pacific region with over 600 staff. Established in 1947 with its headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, ESCAP seeks to overcome some of the region’s greatest challenges. It carries out work in the following areas: Macroeconomic Policy and Development, Statistics, Subregional activities for development, Trade and Investment, Transport, Environment and sustainable development, Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction, Social Development. UN ESCAP