ASTANA, Kazakhstan, January 16. The government of Kazakhstan is committed to further deepening cooperation with the World Bank, said Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, TurkicWorld reports.

He made the remark during a meeting with World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia Tatyana Proskuryakova.

The sides discussed issues of carrying out joint projects in the field of economic development, digitalization implementation, environmental protection, etc. For more than 30 years of cooperation, 48 joint projects worth over $8 billion have been successfully implemented in the country. Today, there are 6 actively operating projects.

According to him, the partnership with the World Bank is aimed at supporting reforms carried out in Kazakhstan to achieve more inclusive and sustainable development. "A striking example of this is the Joint Economic Research Program, which has been successfully implemented for more than 20 years", he noted.

In turn, Proskuryakova noted that the World Bank has intensified the preparation of new projects for Kazakhstan, which was facilitated by negotiations held in August last year. This also applies to the

government’s program to connect remote settlements to the Internet."This will be a very good example for all Central Asian countries. I think that Kazakhstan’s role as a regional leader will strengthen," she noted.

Meanwhile, the WB operates in Kazakhstan under the current Country Partnership Framework for 2020-2025. The CPF aligns with the government's reform program and Kazakhstan's 2050 development strategy, aimed at expediting the transformation of Kazakhstan into a modern society with a knowledge-based, diversified, and private-sector-driven economy.