Dear Colleagues,

In a significant diplomatic and business development, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomed Umaro Sissoco Embaló, President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, who is currently on an official visit to Kazakhstan. The leaders visited the Astana International Financial Centre, where AIFC Governor Renat Bekturov provided a detailed overview of the Centre's structure and core activities.

In another notable achievement, the Astana International Exchange played a key role in facilitating the successful issuance of PanDeM LLC's first green bond. This marks a pioneering moment as the first issuer from Kyrgyzstan takes a step towards promoting sustainable finance and renewable energy investment in the region.

On the sports front, the AIFC Olympics are in full swing, bringing together not only sports enthusiasts from the AIFC, but also participants from various organisations. With the chess, basketball and volleyball tournaments successfully completed, the excitement continues with the upcoming table tennis matches!

For those interested in the world of mediation, we encourage you to listen to a podcast with Mr Thomas Krümmel, Chairman of the IAC, in which he discusses the process of appointing mediators to mediation proceedings at the International Arbitration Centre.

Meanwhile, the US stock market saw a week of volatility, with major indices such as the NASDAQ Composite and S&P 500 posting gains on Monday and Friday, only to experience sharp declines mid-week, with Wednesday posting the largest losses of any major index.

Let's stay informed, inspired and united as we celebrate success and continue to strive for excellence.

Best regards,
The AIFC Corporate Communications Team