The U.S. - Kazakhstan Public - Private Economic Partnership Initiative (PPEPI) is a unique initiative aimed at improving the business environment for Kazakhstan’s investment and trade community, both foreign and local, through broad-scale economic policy reform. In close collaboration with the Prime Minister’s Office, the initiative will work to develop an attractive, transparent and predictable investment climate.  It is thematically organized around five ‘pillars’ or priority topics:

• Anti-Corruption/Rule of Law
• Regional Economic Integration/Trade and Customs
• Transparency/Economic Efficiency
• Economic Diversification/SME Development
•  Cooperation in Science and Technology

PPEPI’s core mandate is fulfilled through its five Working Groups each devoted to one of the above topics. The central purpose of the Working Groups is to formulate policy recommendations in the form of White Papers focused on major issues within each of the Working Group spheres. During PPEPI’s pilot year, each Group produced two sets of White Papers for presentation to the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.

At the request of Deputy Prime Minister Orynbayev, PPEPI will be expanding its activities to include implementation projects focused on moving forward the recommendations made by the Working Groups. In this phase, small project teams will work closely with government officials on projects such as drafting legislative changes and developing pilot seminars targeted at key officials and entrepreneurs throughout Kazakhstan. These projects will compliment the White Papers allowing PPEPI to extend its reach and maximize its impact on the business environment.

PPEPI was conceived in the summer of 2007 by Frank Mermoud, Special Representative for the Commercial and Business Affairs at the U.S. State Department, and Prime Minister Karim Massimov of Kazakhstan. The PPEPI ‘pillars’ were identified as major challenges to the continued expansion of Kazakhstan’s dynamic investment and trade environment.  The program is administered by the American Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan (AmCham) under a partial grant funded by the Kazakhstan government and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).