An introductory workshop was held in December on Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) in Kazakhstan for officials of central and local executive government bodies, representatives of international organizations, business and public associations, and individuals from the private sector. Supported by the Kazakhstan Association of Regional Environmental Initiatives “ECOJER”, the webinar addressed the state of public procurement in the country; a feasibility assessment on SPP in development; UNDA Project and PAGE SPP activities; and examples and lessons learned from other UNDP project countries, such as Kyrgyzstan and Georgia.
The webinar was organized by PAGE through UNEP and the UN Development Account (UNDA) and under the project “Enhancing sustainable public procurement for the regional transition to inclusive green economy in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia”.
Speakers included the Vice-Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. R. Beketayev; Mr. A. Primkulov, Vice-Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Aidai Kurmanova, Head of UNEP Sub-Regional Office for Central Asia.
SPP is a key thematic area for PAGE support in the country aligning with the government’s strategic vision for a sustainable future. The aforementioned feasibility study began in 2020 and will provide analysis on integrating SPP and sustainability criteria into the national public procurement process. The results are expected in the second quarter of 2021.