From November 21 to 25, 2023, an exhibition dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia and Azerbaijan (SPECA) took place in Baku. The exhibition aimed to showcase the economic potential of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, discuss collaboration opportunities, and strengthen regional economic ties between the countries. The Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan organized the exhibition. Each country had separate pavilions showcasing projects in various areas, including industry, digital development and innovation, entrepreneurship, and tourism.

TechnoGroupService LLP (TGS) officially participated in the exhibition, presenting its own software "InTech-Forecast" and the renewable energy support service "GreenLight." Throughout the exhibition, TGS representatives actively promoted TGS projects and expanded their partner and client base. They also gave an interview to the "Khabar" TV channel and initiated collaborations with Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek partners, and domestic companies participating in the exhibition. TGS expresses gratitude to the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry for the support and invitation to participate in this international event, as well as to the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Republic of Azerbaijan for their prompt work.

As part of the exhibition, on November 24, the first Summit of the Heads of States participating in SPECA was held. During the summit, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed establishing a target trust fund to support economic development and integration and initiating joint research on environmental issues. The head of state believes that the countries of the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) have become a continental bridge between Europe and Asia.

Kazakhstan initiated the creation of the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia in 1997. The programme was launched in 1998 by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, later joined by Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. The founding document, the Tashkent Declaration, states that the "objective of the Programme is to support the countries of Central Asia in developing cooperation, creating incentives for economic development, and integrating into the economies of Europe and Asia."

The International Energy Summit held on November 17, 2023, in Almaty served as a platform for discussing key challenges in the electric power industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The summit featured insights from the following experts: Isenov Baglan Kakimzhanovich, Director of the Production and Technical Department at JSC "CAEC," Alimbetov Zharkymbek Kopbayevich, Deputy Chairman of the Kazakhstan Industry Trade Union of Power Engineers, Gladyev Evgeny Valerievich, CEO of Samruk Kazyna-United Green LLP, Mominbayev Zhomart Bayzakovich, Member of the Board of Directors of "Qazaq Green" RE Association, Kopenov Edil Kudaibergenovich, CEO of LLP "AlmatyEnergoSbyt," Zhanbyrshy Galym Saduakasuly, Technical Director of LLP "Sogrinskaya TEC," Kalmenov Marat Ergalievich, Head of the Business Development and Green Technologies Service at JSC "Kazakhstan-British Technical University," and others.

One of the pressing issues highlighted by all participants was the shortage of personnel in the industry and the need to increase the remuneration of energy professionals. Suggestions were also made regarding measures to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 and the opportunities to attract green finance into renewable energy.

During the summit, representatives from the production sector shared their experiences in operating state-of-the-art energy equipment and the results of implementing projects in the digitalization of the industry, including the creation of digital twins for large hydroelectric power stations.

TOO "TechnoGroupService" announces the receipt of an External Evaluation (Second Party Opinion (SPO)) prepared by the Kazakh provider, the Green Finance Centre (GFC) (https://gfc.aifc.kz/en), for the verification of the Green Bond Framework (GBF) Policy. The SPO is already available on the official GFC website: https://gfc.aifc.kz/, and it has been included in the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) database of sustainable bond issuers. The release of the SPO is timed to coincide with the National Currency Day of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which is celebrated this year.

TOO "TechnoGroupService" expresses gratitude to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDMF), the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange "KASE," and the Green Finance Centre of the AIFC for the opportunity to develop the GBF and issue the SPO, which are necessary for the future issuance of "green" bonds. These measures align with the development policy of "green" finance in Central Asian countries actively promoted by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, K. Tokayev (https://kz.kursiv.media/2023-11-03/fnsk-center/).

The first project to be implemented using the "green" finance mechanism is the construction of a 50 MW solar power plant "Kun Bulagy" in the Issyk-Kul region of the Kyrgyz Republic. The annual power generation capacity of the power station will be 84.9 million kWh, and it is expected to prevent CO2 emissions of 10.5 thousand tons.

On November 14, 2023, a meeting of the Industrial Committee (IC) of the School of Materials Science and Green Technologies took place at the JSC "Kazakhstan-British Technical University" (KBTU). The meeting was attended by the Dean of the School, Professor, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences N.B. Beisenkhanov, partners from LLP "TechnoGroupService" J.B. Mominbaev and K.G. Abenov, as well as invited members of the IC.

The School of Materials Science and Green Technologies (SMGT) was established at KBTU based on the Laboratory of Alternative Energy and Nanotechnologies and the Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Technologies. Nanotechnologies cover an interdisciplinary area at the intersection of fundamental and applied directions in science and technology. This field has become relevant as it allows the formation of material structures at the nanoscale and modification of the properties of nanomaterials, thereby contributing to their integration into various industries and sciences. Photovoltaics is one of the renewable energy directions developed using nanotechnologies.

During the meeting, a presentation on "Human Resources Provision in the Power Industry" was delivered by the Expert on Project Development and Digital Transformation at JSC "COREM," Dr. PhD A.A. Saukhimov. The presenter extensively covered topics such as workforce shortages in the industry, professional standards, job positions, and the digital power platform developed by JSC "COREM." The material generated significant interest as issues related to industrial internship, choosing a thesis topic, and the subsequent employment of SMGT graduates are crucial for the Industrial Committee.

Summing up the meeting, the Chairman of the Industrial Committee of SMGT, J.B. Mominbaev, emphasized the need to conduct a survey of SMGT students to increase the employment rate of graduates to 94%, aligning with the current best result of the School of Energy and Oil and Gas Industry of JSC "KBTU."