On June 21 2021, International Islamic Food Processing Association (“IFPA“) held a meeting with the representatives of Kazakhstan Oil and Fat Union (“Union“). During the latest meeting, the parties discussed in detail the prospects of cooperation and signed a mutual agreement to further advance bilateral cooperation. After the roundtable discussion, H.E. Sheikh Bilal Khan, Director General and CEO of IFPA, and Mr. Konstantin Nevzorov, President of Kazakhstan Oil and Fat Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) for cooperation in oil and fat industry of Kazakhstan.
This MoU reaffirms the trust the parties have in this partnership and defines the framework for future cooperation between the two entities. The agreement signifies each party’s advantage to support high-quality and sustainable development outcomes in one of the fastest growing and export-oriented industries of Kazakhstan with investments related to the use of Islamic finance, Shariah structuring, Sukuk listing and other Islamic investment products from the markets of the 57 Organization of Islamic Conference (“OIC”) countries.
During the meeting Mr. Konstantin Nevzorov conducted a very informative and resourceful presentation about the activities of 25 leading enterprises of oil and fat industry, highlighting key facts of the Eurasian Economic Union (“EAEU”) technical regulations of distributing lands for oilseeds, providing detailed insights on value, volume and share of Kazakhstan’s oilseeds export by countries in 2020 as well as sharing investment projects. The President of the Union stated that “the Union will benefit from the expertise and access to markets of IFPA and will endeavour to work closely in developing a pragmatic and cooperative approach to solving the issues of the industry”. The Director General and CEO of IFPA remarked that “OIC markets have a huge appetite for value-added agri-food products of Kazakhstan and IFPA will work closely with the Union to develop the export potential of the oil and fat products, attract Islamic investments and assist the Union in tailoring the EAEU technical regulations for the OIC agri-food industry.”
After the signing ceremony, the parties expressed their resolve and commitment to enhancingtheir level of cooperation with anticipated fruitful outcomes in new export markets of the OIC for the continued stability and sustainable development of the oil and fat enterprises under the Union’s umbrella.
