The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the lead U.S. Government agency that works to render foreign assistance.

Among the Agency’s key areas of activity is to provide support of trade and agriculture, economic growth, healthcare, render urgent humanitarian aid, contribute to preventing conflicts, and provide democracy support in impoverished countries of the world.

The USAID and Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan partnership relations started back in 1992. The USAID Agency rendered assistance to Kazakhstan in the development and enactment of laws and regulatory documents, and provided material and technical resources required to create capital markets. USAID supported setup of an independent Securities and Exchange Commission, contributed to opening the first private stock exchange in Kazakhstan and arranging supervision over an emerging securities market.

Today Kazakhstan is a medium income country that starts to play the role of a regional leader. Since 2006, USAID economic reform programs are funded jointly with the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. A main focus is made on small and medium-sized business, economic reforms and regional trade. Programs are also aimed at addressing such problems as restricted activity of mass media and inactive citizen involvement in running the nation, as well as expensive and inefficient healthcare system. The USAID Agency is cooperating with the government with a view to supporting democratic political reforms and improving quality of medical care in such diseases as tuberculosis and HIV.

USAID is one of the key and long-term partners of the Civil Society Development Association (ARGO). Backed by USAID, ARGO is implementing large-scale regional programs such as the Development through Regional Cooperation Project and Partnership for Innovations – P4I Program.

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states that have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development over the 60+ years of enlargement.

The EU-Kazakhstan diplomatic relations started in 1993. Today, the EU is one of Kazakhstan’s biggest foreign investor and trading partner. The EU-Kazakhstan relations are currently build on the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) which covers 29 key policy areas, including economic and financial cooperation, energy, transport, environment and climate change, employment and social affairs, culture, education and research.

In 1991-2014, the EU funded over 350 projects in Kazakhstan amounting to € 180 million, notably focusing on: (a) strengthening the capacity of central and local government; (b) supporting reform of the justice sector; and (c) improving the capacity of the public sector to introduce social and economic reforms. Bilateral interventions through the EU Development and Cooperation Instrument (DCI) during 2007-2013 amounted to € 74 million.

The country economic upgrade to Upper Middle Income Country still allows Kazakhstan to benefit from EU regional cooperation under The Regional Multiannual Indicative Program for Central Asia. This is focusing on two sectors: Sustainable Development (energy, environment, water and socio-economic development) and Regional Security (border management, fight against drugs and crime, Rule of law and judiciary reforms). The EU allocates € 360 million for regional cooperation projects in Central Asia for the 2014-2020 funding period (including € 115 million for Erasmus+ programme).

The EU also funds a variety of projects in Kazakhstan to encourage a pluralistic political system while strengthening the role of civil society through such thematic programmes as the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) and the Non-State Actors and Local Authorities (NSA-LA).

Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research (KIMEP University) is a privately owned nonprofit higher educational institution that carries out its activity in the sphere of higher education according to the North American credit educational system. Classes are conducted mainly in English. KIMEP is one of the country’s oldest universities, a flagman of business education in Kazakhstan.

Multi-year fruitful cooperation between KIMEP and ARGO is developing in many areas. For example, KIMEP is a permanent partner of ARGO in holding annual International “Insights into Development” Conference. This unique conference is the largest forum in the region to discuss and work in a ‘third sector’ sphere. For 8 years already, the conference every year brings together a great number of civil society organizations leaders, as well as representatives of governments, businesses, academia and mass media.