On September 16 in Astana, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held talks with Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who arrived in Kazakhstan on an official visit.
Tokayev emphasized that Germany is one of the main trading partners of Kazakhstan and a leading investor in its economy.
“Last year, bilateral trade turnover increased almost 1.5-fold and reached almost $4 billion. Since 2005, direct investments from Germany [in Kazakhstan] have amounted to about $6.7 billion, with 90 percent of these funds invested in the non-resource sector. Today, more than a thousand companies with German capital operate in Kazakhstan,” Tokayev said.
The parties confirmed their interest in increasing mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation, especially in the areas of energy, “green” transformation, mining, transport and logistics, climate protection, ecology, and agriculture.
On the same day, Tokayev and Scholz attended the Kazakhstan-Germany Business Forum.
In his speech, Tokayev noted that last year, German direct investment in Kazakhstan demonstrated significant growth of 64%, reaching a record high level of $770 million.
“Agreements have been reached on a portfolio of 66 joint investment projects worth a total of $55 billion. We look forward to German companies expanding their presence in our country by localizing production under our common brand ‘Made in Kazakhstan with German quality!’,” said the Kazakh president.
Tokayev identified promising areas of Kazakh-German cooperation.
“Extraction and processing of natural resources based on the pragmatic formula of ‘investment and technology in exchange for essential raw materials’. Our mineral resource base includes more than five thousand unexplored deposits, the reserves of which are estimated at trillions of dollars. Today, Kazakhstan produces 19 out of 34 rare earth materials that are of critical importance to the EU economy. We welcome HMS Bergbau’s plans to carry out geological exploration work with the aim of building a lithium processing plant in East Kazakhstan,” Tokayev said.
Given that 70% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports go to the European Union, the country is ready to increase its oil exports, Tokayev said, adding that localization of German production of oil and gas equipment and components in Kazakhstan is a key priority.
Noting that the Middle Corridor is currently the shortest and most reliable transport route to Europe with a potential annual capacity of up to 10 million tons of cargo, Tokayev proposed linking the Middle Corridor with the Trans-European Transport Network and the EU Global Gateway initiative in order to support growing trade volumes between East and West.
As a result of the Kazakhstan-Germany business forum, 36 commercial documents worth $6.3 billion were signed.
Among them was a Framework Agreement between the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan and Skyhansa on the construction of a cargo-passenger airport in the Khorgos-Eastern Gate special economic zone on the Kazakh-Chinese border. Another transport and logistics industry agreement was a Memorandum of Understanding between Aktau Commercial Seaport and Rhenus SE on building a tri-modal container terminal by 2030.
During their talks, Tokayev and Scholz also touched upon the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Tokayev told Scholz that Russia’s military “cannot be defeated” in its war against Ukraine and instead urged support for a peace plans being pressed by China and Brazil, a consideration the German chancellor quickly rejected, as reported by RFE/RL.
“It is a fact that Russia cannot be defeated in the military sense,” Tokayev told Scholz, adding that “a further escalation of war will lead to irreparable consequences for the whole of humanity and above all for the countries involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict”.
Scholz disagreed with Tokayev’s suggestion, saying that Berlin was providing support to Kyiv because Russia had invaded Ukraine in an unprovoked attack in February 2022.
“That is the case and will remain so, so that the country can defend itself and protect its integrity and sovereignty,” Scholz said, adding that Russia was “continuing to attack Ukraine with great aggression.”
“And that is why this is something that must never be ignored in everything we discuss. It is Russia that has not only started the war but is continuing it and could contribute to ending it at any time by stopping its aggression.”
Photo: akorda.kz
