<p>In May 2009, President Myung-bak Lee of the Republic of Korea met with President Nursultan Nazarbayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan during an official visit to Kazakhstan, and both vowed to strengthen the economic cooperation between the two countries. Subsequently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan officially requested the Korea Development Institute (KDI) on June<br />
15, 2009, to assist in formulating a “Long-term Industrial-Innovative Development Plan of Kazakhstan”, under the auspices of the Knowledge Sharing Program (KSP).</p>
<p>In the Senior Policy dialogue, Minister Lee and Dr. Lim presented the final policy consultation results to Minister Isekeshev. The prioritization and harmonization of the various sectoral plans as well as the implementation of a<br />
monitoring mechanism were emphasized. This would ensure that past failures would not be repeated. It was further stressed that an over-dependence on certain resources should be avoided by encouraging industrial diversification<br />
and human resources development. The income from natural resources should be wisely allocated by improving the political and economic system. It was recommended that the state oil fund should increase its domestic investments as opposed to foreign investments. The build-up of infrastructure through active and systematic government investments, rather than through Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP), was cited as another critical recommendation for<br />
Kazakhstan at its current development stage.</p>