The Trade Council of Iceland is planning a journey for Icelandic companies in June to explore the market in Kazakhstan; ten have expressed their interest in going.
Gudjón Svavarsson, director of New Markets at the Trade Council, said the Council had done a poll on which country representatives of Icelandic businesses would like to visit, and Kazakhstan had been one of the most popular choices. Fréttabladid reports.
The ten companies interested in traveling to Kazakhstan operate in the field of tourism, energy, engineering and investments.
Kazakhstan got worldwide attention last year after British actor Sacha Baron Cohen created the character Borat, a journalist from Kazakhstan who visited Western countries to learn about their culture and teach them about Kazakhstan.
Borat’s image of Kazakhstan is rather murky and stereotypical, which Kazakhstani authorities worried might lead to negative attention. But now they intend to use the publicity to promote the country.
Svavarsson said Kazakhstan now has a unique opportunity thanks to Borat’s efforts, because hardly anyone had even heard of Kazakhstan before he started talking about it, but now the country “is on the map.”
Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world and has many natural resources. Icelandic entrepreneurs hope to establish their businesses there before a predictable economic growth happens, as Fréttabladid reports.
