During his official visit to Qatar on February 14, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held talks with Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and participated in the Kazakhstan–Qatar Investment Roundtable in Doha.
During his talks with the Amir of Qatar, Tokayev expressed his firm belief that in the near future Qatar will become one of the top ten largest investors in Kazakhstan. The president expressed Kazakhstan’s readiness to increase exports to Qatar on 60 non-commodity items with a total value of 250 million dollars, and proposed to increase bilateral trade turnover to 500 million dollars in the near future, the presidential press service reported.
The parties discussed issues relating to agriculture, transport and logistics, as well as tourism. The Kazakh leader called on Qatar to put joint efforts for development of intermodal transportation network to link the Gulf and Central Asia on order to foster regional economic activities.
Speaking at the Kazakhstan–Qatar Investment Roundtable, President Tokayev invited Qatari companies to invest in the Kazakh economy and explore new business opportunities, promising that Kazakhstan is ready to provide tax and customs preferences, co-financing of projects, partial guarantees and export support mechanisms.
Tokayev proposed to intensify the efforts of the Kazakhstan-Qatar Joint High-Level Commission and Business Council to bring the partnership to a new level.
Tokayev said that Kazakhstan can offer the Qatari market high-quality goods such as machinery, iron, steel, and agricultural products.
The president said that today Kazakhstan and Qatar are more closely connected than ever before due to visa-free regime and almost 20 direct flights per week.
According to Tokayev, the energy sector is the basis of cooperation between the two countries. The president invited Qatari energy companies to actively participate in geological exploration, petrochemicals, transportation, and oil and gas processing projects.
Tokayev emphasized that Kazakhstan’s huge renewable energy potential, estimated at one trillion kilowatt-hours, has attracted the attention of global players who have committed to implement projects with a capacity of 43 gigawatts. “We welcome Nebras Power’s intentions to implement a 350 megawatt hydroelectric power plant and Pearl Overseas’ plans to construct a 1.1 gigawatt combined-cycle plants in Kazakhstan,” he said.
The Kazakh leader also invited Qatari companies to participate in the extraction and processing of critical raw materials such as cobalt and lithium in Kazakhstan.
Tokayev also said that Kazakhstan can supply halal and organic agricultural products to the Qatari market.
Photo: akorda.kz
