The state visit of Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev, President of Kazakhstan, to Paris on November 5, 2024, marks a deepening of strategic relations between France and Kazakhstan. The meeting comes a year after Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Astana, aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in key areas including healthcare.
On November 4, the France-Kazakhstan Business Council organised an economic forum in Paris, at the MEDEF headquarters, to strengthen ties between France and Kazakhstan. The event brought together representatives of major Kazakhstani companies and officials, particularly in the field of health, a priority sector for cooperation between the two nations.
The forum, co-chaired by Guy Sidos, chairman of the French side of the council and CEO of Vicat, and Aidan Karibzhanov for the Kazakhstani side, also aims to increase the French presence in a variety of sectors, taking advantage of Kazakhstan’s strong economic growth – estimated at 3.9% for 2024 – and the country’s institutional stability.
During the economic forum organised by the France-Kazakhstan Business Council in conjunction with Medef-International, a special session was organised by French Healthcare association in partnership with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Health. The session enabled French companies in the healthcare sector to gain a better understanding of the opportunities available to them in Kazakhstan, through discussions with the Ministry’s official delegation.
This interest in healthcare comes in the context of the signing, a year earlier, of a declaration of intent between the health ministries of the two countries, which defined six areas of cooperation: universal health coverage, strengthening healthcare systems, public health (prevention and infrastructure), non-communicable diseases (such as cancer), mental health, as well as digital innovations and telehealth.
The Kazakhstan’s government plans to spend 5% of its GDP on health by 2027. In addition, Kazakhstan is increasingly moving towards the deployment of vast screening campaigns, despite the costs involved, to prevent non-transmissible diseases such as cancer, which affects many Kazakhstani. It’s a whole transformation of health strategy that has been underway for several years now, providing the framework for strengthening economic and healthcare cooperation between France and Kazakhstan.
Numerous healthcare agreements signed with French Healthcare’s ecosystem to strengthen health cooperation between France and Kazakhstan
French Healthcare’s event was one of the highlights of the economic forum held on 4 November, focusing on cooperation projects specifically in the healthcare sector.
During the event, the association orchestrated the signing of several healthcare agreements between Kazakhtan’s ministry and a number of participating companies. The other companies were able to initiate or continue contacts with the country’s health authorities, with a view to creating future business flows.
The association also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Health Chamber of the Republic of Kazakhstan, on strengthening cooperation in the health sector and sharing best practice, with a particular focus on the quality and accessibility of healthcare services.
As for the other agreements signed with members and partners of French Healthcare :
- An MoU on the representation of mutual interests between Dolce Pharm, a local leader in medical consumables, and Steam France.
- An MoU on the establishment of a joint project between Dolce Pharm and La Salle Blanche.
- Two MoUs signed with the Hospital Foch, one with the Multidisciplinary Medical Centre in Astana, and the other with the Kazakh research institute for radiology and oncology.
- A cooperation agreement on mentoring and support for the proton therapy centre in Kazakhstan, signed by the Curie Institute and Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Health.
- Several MoUs with the Agence Française du Développement, a partner of the association, signed with the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and another with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Health, Baiterek National Managing Holding.
