Kazakhstan invites S. Korean businesses to participate in Alatau City development

Representatives of ministries and departments attended the 11th Kazakhstan–Korea Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation held in Astana.

Kazakh Minister of Industry and Construction Yersain Nagaspaev highlighted the upcoming visit of the Head of State, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to Seoul this September will be important for the development of bilateral relations.

He noted that bilateral trade reached 3.17 billion US dollars in 2025, while South Korean direct investment in Kazakhstan over the past decade totaled 8 billion Us dollars.

Over 700 companies with South Korean capital are currently operating in Kazakhstan.

46 projects worth about 4 billion US dollars are currently being developed.

Minister Nagaspaev emphasized the strategic importance of developing the new city of Alatau as a hub for investment, technology, urban planning, digitalization, and sustainable growth. South Korean companies are invited to contribute their expertise in high-tech urban infrastructure.

Deputy chairman of the investment committee of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry Yevgeny Kim described Alatau as a key project in Kazakhstan’s new economic growth model, with over 50 investment initiatives worth more than 2 trillion tenge already under consideration.

Plans include joint working groups on green energy, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, and infrastructure development.

South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Kim Jung-Kwan highlighted the expansion of cooperation into new areas such as critical minerals, technology, and smart city development. He also welcomed the upcoming state visit of President Tokayev to Seoul in September 2026.

Earlier, South Korea agreed to purchase 18 million barrels of Kazakh oil via alternative routes amid instability in the Middle East.