In spring, the peak in business activity, Iteca, Kazakhstan’s leading exhibition company, will hold two conferences in Atyrau and Astana and 15 exhibitions in Almaty, Astana, Atyrau, and Shymkent. It is noteworthy that this year sees a clearly discerned trend to hold events in new formats. A few exhibitions, for example, are accompanied by various technology forums. The 2009 Spring Exhibition Season was opened by two construction exhibitions, KazBuild Spring and WinTecExpo Kazakhstan, which took place in Almaty on 3-6 March, their results exceeding the expectations of both exponents and visitors. Over 3,500 professionals that visited the event were amazed by the diversity of new products presented by the exhibiting companies. Responding to our questions, the exponents were unanimous in noting the efficiency of the exhibitions and voicing their optimistic plans for the future. Please be reminded that the exhibition space of KazBuild Spring 2009 brought together about 200 companies from 17 countries, or about 900 trademarks and brands, at 140 stand expositions. WinTecExpo Kazakhstan 2009 was attended by 30 exhibiting companies from 9 countries. About half of the exponents of both exhibitions were Kazakhstan companies. The most active foreign exhibitors included companies from Germany (15% of total exhibitors), Turkey (12%), Russia (11%), China (7%), etc. For the first time ever, KazBuild Spring featured a national stand of Bavaria. Atyrau Oil & Gas 2009 held by Iteca together with its international partners on 7-9 April in Atyrau became the centre of attention for investors in Kazakhstan’s oil and gas industry and infrastructure. Traditionally accommodated at the Atyrau Sports Complex, the exposition united 100 companies from 13 countries. Alongside this event, the Renaissance Atyrau Hotel hosted a two-day conference, OilTech Kazakhstan 2009, attended by 100 delegates. It is noteworthy that heads of the diplomatic missions accredited in Kazakhstan had a series of meetings with entrepreneurs and government authorities on the days of Atyrau Oil & Gas and OilTech Kazakhstan. The Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands and representatives of the trade missions of the United States, Russia, France, and Bulgaria directly participated in the conference. Thus, these two events became a platform to discuss innovations in the sphere of state-of-the-art oil and gas exploration and production technologies in Kazakhstan and to jointly generate ideas. On 23-25 April, Iteca intends to invite attention of professionals to the following projects: KITF 2009, HOREX 2009 and KazRealty 2009. The events are to take place at one venue in Almaty, in the Atakent Exhibition Centre pavilions. KITF Tourist Fair, which is expected to be attended by a few hundred exhibiting companies from more than 30 countries and a few thousand professionals of tourist business and related spheres, can be singled out for its scale as the largest event in this cascade of projects. The keynote idea of KITF will be the presentation of Kazakhstan, which will be receiving the delegation of the 18th General Assembly of the UN World Tourist Organisation scheduled for October this year. On the same dates, 23-25 April, Iteca organises KazRealty 2009 Real Estate and Investment Exhibition in Pavilion 11. The main pool of exponents will be represented by companies that offer real estate in European countries, as well as in the United Arab Emirates and Russia. Pavilion 9 of the Atakent Exhibition Centre, adjoining to KITF, will be hosting HOREX 2009 – Everything for Hotels, Restaurants and Supermarkets, which will become a true Kazakhstan parade of hospitality industry. The event will traditionally incorporate an exposition, a cooking congress, and a variety of contests, seminars and trainings by exhibiting companies. The exhibition is expected to be attended by about 70 exhibiting companies from 7 countries and a few thousand professionals of hotel and restaurant business. The previous years’ experience shows that the exhibition platform is actively used by restaurateurs, hoteliers, chefs, suppliers and manufacturers of equipment, foodstuffs and services for hotels/inns, supermarkets, restaurants, bars and cafes. On 28 April, the Rixos President Astana Hotel in Astana will be hosting APEC 2009 Conference and Exhibition. Corporate social responsibility of oil and gas industry enterprises will be the main subject of the conference, which will discuss examples and prospects of social partnership, education and environment protection. The event has already received support from the Government of Kazakhstan. Invited to take part are representatives of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Kazakhstan, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Kazakhstan, Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan, Ministry of Environment Proteciton of Kazakhstan, Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund, KazMunaiGas National Company, and other structures. Sponsors include such well-known companies as TengizChevrOil and FMC Technologies. On the same day, Iteca launches one more regional construction project in Shymkent, ShymkentBuild 2009. The 1st South Kazakhstan Construction Exhibition will take place on 28-30 April 2009 at the Atameken Regional Exhibition Centre. The organisers expect more than 50 companies from 10 countries of the world. The next international forum will be KIHE 2009 Health Exhibition to take place on 13-16 May in Pavilion 11 of the Atakent Exhibition Centre. The annual growth of this project is a vivid indicator of the fact that the national healthcare system is gaining momentum and the international interest in Kazakhstan increases. On the days of KIHE, thousands of professionals of medical industry and related spheres will arrive in Almaty from all regions of Kazakhstan and neighbouring countries. FYI: in 2008, the total exhibition area made up 6,000 sq. m, over 200 companies from 21 countries took part in the event, and about 6,000 visitors were registered during the four exhibition days. This year will for the first time see national exhibition stands of Slovakia and Jordan. The capital-hosted AstanaBuild 2009 occupies a special place in Iteca’s construction exhibition portfolio. This year, the exhibition will be held at a new venue, the Korme International Exhibition Centre. Also noteworthy is the fact that the exhibition ranks among UFI-class international events. Last year, 370 direct and indirect exponents from 20 countries participated in AstanaBuild and 7,527 professional visitors were registered, of whom 90% work in construction industry or related spheres. The dates of AstanaBuild 2009 are 20-22 May. On 20-22 May, at the same venue with AstanaBuild, Iteca will be holding AutoWorld Astana. Devoted to Cars, Trucks and Special Vehicles, Accessories, Automobile Components, Service Equipment and Technologies, this event is a meeting place for professionals of this industry. Also, AutoWorld Astana had long ago proved to be a platform for presentation of new products in the model ranges by world-famous automobile concerns and domestic manufacturers in Kazakhstan. At the end of May, 26-29 May, Almaty will see a few more events: KITEL 2009, the region’s major exhibition of telecommunications, and CEM Central Asia (Household Appliances). KITEL annually presents at one venue leading international and domestic companies engaged in the sphere of telecommunications and computer technologies, broadcasting and broadband communication networks, software and automation, banking technologies, equipment and services. This year, the organisers are going to attract about 100 companies from 10 countries to take part in KITEL 2009. The main sections of CEM Central Asia are Household Appliances and Goods for Home. These thematic sections will present exhibiting companies from more than 10 countries. The peculiarity of CEM Central Asia is the fact that, along with manufacturers and distributors of household appliances and goods for home, exhibitors include companies that offer related products, e.g. furniture for household appliances, etc. Iteca’s Spring Exhibition Season will be closed by two capital-hosted events, InterFood Astana (Food Industry) and AgriHort Astana (Agriculture). The exhibitions will take place on 10-12 June at the Congress Hall in Astana. The exposition of InterFood Astana 2009 will bring together over 100 companies from 15 countries. The exhibition will present the following industry items: foodstuffs, food additives and ingredients, strong and soft drinks, tea, coffee; a broad coverage will be given to refrigerating and trading equipment, equipment for food industry, packing and packaging machines, equipment for supermarkets, cafes, bars and restaurants, processing machines for food industry. The exhibition is planned to feature an interesting business programme incorporating a variety of seminars and contests, a series of master classes by leading chefs showing how to cook exquisite dishes, and, certainly, a professional tasting (the jury is headed by the Vice President of the Academy of Nutrition of Kazakhstan). AgriHort Astana 2009 Agricultural Exhibition to be held simultaneously with InterFood Astana on 10-12 June will demonstrate new agricultural machinery and equipment. A full calendar of Iteca exhibitions is available on www.iteca.kz For more information please contact: +7 727 258 34 34