On May 23, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Singapore on a state visit.
During his meeting with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Tokayev described Singapore as a time-tested and reliable partner of Astana. Currently, over 140 Singaporean companies and joint ventures operate in Kazakhstan, with total Singaporean investments in the Kazakh economy exceeding $1.7 billion. The volume of mutual trade is expected to exceed $2 billion in the near future.
Tokayev also held a meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and emphasized that Singapore is a strategic partner of Kazakhstan in South East Asia.
“We attach great importance to our multifaceted cooperation with Singapore. We have a long tradition of close ties. I am personally involved in the history of the relationship with Singapore. As a young diplomat in the 1970s, I had the honour of serving in Singapore. I still remember the name of the street – Nassim Road 51,” said Tokayev.
The Kazakh president expressed confidence that the outcome of his first state visit to Singapore would give a strong impetus to bilateral relations.
According to Lawrence Wong, the economies of the two countries are complementary, and Singapore can serve as a gateway for Kazakhstan to expand its interaction with ASEAN countries, while Kazakhstan can facilitate Singapore’s rapprochement with the countries of Central Asia.
The leaders paid special attention to the prospects of economic and investment cooperation. They reaffirmed their mutual commitment to expanding cooperation in such areas as green energy, transport and logistics, digitalisation, finance, agribusiness, connectivity, mining and processing of critical minerals, and e-commerce.
Special attention was paid to strengthening cooperation in education and science, including strengthening inter-university cooperation, and student exchange.
The parties agreed to make joint efforts to expand contacts between the business communities of Kazakhstan and Singapore.
Tokayev and Wong welcomed the implementation of such flagship project as Alatau City (G4 City) in Kazakhstan’s Almaty region with the participation of the Singaporean company Surbana Jurong.
Tokayev noted the importance of Alatau City as a catalyst for the economy not only of Kazakhstan, but also of the entire Central Asian region. Tokayev thanked the Singaporean company for developing a comprehensive master plan for the project. The designated area of one thousand square kilometers in Alatau City will be developed as a Special Economic Zone.
Tokayev and Wong also welcomed the partnership between Singapore’s PSA International and Kazakhstan Railways aimed at increasing the potential of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR).
During Tokayev’s visit, a Memorandum of further cooperation was signed between Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) and PSA on the development of the transport and transit potential of Kazakhstan.
KTZ and PSA agreed to join efforts to increase the volume of cargo transit through Kazakhstan through the synergy of the assets of both companies operating in China. Today, KTZ operates railway terminals in China in the dry port of Xi’an and the sea port of Lianyungang. The assets of the PSA group of companies include marine terminals in 6 ports and railway terminals in 13 cities.
In his speech at the Kazakhstan-Singapore Business Forum on the same day, Tokayev noted that TITR is capable of radically changing the level of Eurasian cooperation. “This is the shortest and most sustainable route from Central and East Asia to Europe. Singapore companies and financial institutions can benefit significantly by exploring business and investment opportunities in this area,” Tokayev said.
Speaking at the forum, Tokayev emphasized that Kazakhstan and Singapore, despite their geographical distance, have always been and remain close partners both politically and economically.
The Kazakh president outlined a number of promising areas of cooperation.
The president announced Kazakhstan’s readiness to ensure supplies of critical raw materials and natural resources to Singapore. “Considering that global demand for rare metals will quadruple by 2040, Kazakhstan, which has approximately 5,000 unexplored deposits, can become a reliable partner for the joint development of this potential. We have high hopes for long-term cooperation with the Indorama company, which is interested in exploring copper and phosphate deposits in Kazakhstan,” Tokayev said.
He also called on Singaporean companies to expand partnerships in the production of clean energy, transfer of technology and expertise.
Photo: Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (akorda.kz)
