A new level of strategic partnership: What Astana and Ankara agreed on

Strong ties based on trust

The Republic of Türkiye has long been a reliable partner for Kazakhstan across trade, historical ties, and geopolitical cooperation. This strong relationship is also reflected in the personal rapport between the leaders of the two nations.

Since 2019, President Tokayev has held 14 bilateral meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Their most recent encounter took place this year in Budapest during the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States.

Upon Tokayev’s arrival at Ankara’s international airport, he was greeted with a guard of honor. Significantly, President Erdoğan welcomed him personally at the airport, a gesture that highlights the close and trusted relationship between the two countries. In addition, major streets in the Turkish capital were decorated with banners honoring the Kazakh leader.

The official program began with a visit to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding president of Türkiye. Tokayev was welcomed with full honors at the presidential palace in Ankara, including a ceremonial guard and an escort by the cavalry.

During the fifth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council between Kazakhstan and Türkiye, Erdoğan welcomed Tokayev with the words, “Welcome to your second homeland.” He also congratulated the people of Kazakhstan on the 180th anniversary of the birth of the great poet and thinker Abai Kunanbaiuly.

Türkiye among Kazakhstan’s largest investors

Türkiye ranks among the top investors in Kazakhstan’s economy. The two countries have now set an ambitious goal of boosting their bilateral trade volume to 15 billion dollars. Notably, trade between them has shown steady growth in recent years.

Last year, mutual trade approached 5 billion dollars. During the fifth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, President Tokayev emphasized that Kazakhstan is ready to export at least 34 categories of products to the Turkish market, with a total value of 1 billion dollars. The next step in strengthening trade ties will be expanding the range of Turkish goods imported into Kazakhstan.

Today, around 4,000 Turkish companies operate in Kazakhstan. Together, they have implemented various projects worth 6 billion dollars across sectors including energy, construction, industry, agriculture, infrastructure, healthcare, and tourism. Meanwhile, Kazakh investments in Türkiye have exceeded 2.5 billion dollars.

“We strive to further enhance this positive momentum in trade, the defense industry, agriculture, tourism and culture. Kazakhstan is one of our largest trading partners. We remain committed to increasing trade turnover to 15 billion US dollars,” said President Erdoğan during the council meeting.

Both Astana and Ankara also emphasized the strategic importance of the transport and logistics sector, particularly the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, in increasing trade volumes. Today, nearly 85 percent of land cargo transported between Europe and China passes through Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan to receive 160 billion tenge in Turkish investments

A key part of the visit was President Tokayev’s meeting with top Turkish business leaders, including Hüseyin Arslan, Chairman of YDA Holding. The company is currently working on three hospital construction and management projects in Turkistan, Astana, and Petropavlovsk. It also plans to begin building a sandwich panel production plant in Astana soon, along with the creation of a multimodal transit hub in Aktau.

Kazakhstan and Türkiye share a strategic vision for the development of logistics infrastructure, recognizing that improvements in this area can reduce transit times and boost export capacity. One notable example is the logistics hub that Türkiye’s leading logistics innovation firm, S Sistem Lojistik, will build at Aktobe International Airport. The project is being carried out in partnership with Kazpost and is expected to launch in the second half of 2026.

Strong growth is also expected in the agro-industrial sector. Kazakhstan and the Turkish company Tiryaki Holding signed an agreement for investments totaling 160 billion tenge. The first phase, valued at 110 billion tenge, will go toward a project focused on advanced wheat processing. Another 50 billion tenge will be invested in the processing of legumes.

President Tokayev also expressed support for diversifying Kazakhstan’s pharmaceutical industry through Turkish investment. Orzax Group, a global leader in the production of dietary supplements, will build a manufacturing facility in the Turkistan region. This project is expected to boost Kazakhstan’s export potential in the sector.

In total, Kazakhstan and Türkiye are working on 23 joint agro-industrial projects worth 1.3 billion dollars, 18 of which are already operational. Kazakhstan exports significant volumes of agricultural products to Türkiye, including a quarter of its grain, one-third of its cotton, and 26 percent of its wheat gluten.

Developing oil exports and raw material processing

Energy cooperation was also high on the agenda during the leaders’ talks. One key topic was the potential for increasing oil exports through the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline, which currently transports about 1.4 million tons of Kazakh oil to Türkiye each year.

President Tokayev invited Turkish companies to participate in projects aimed at reducing electricity shortages in Kazakhstan and confirmed the country’s readiness to jointly implement large-scale energy initiatives. He also expressed confidence in the promising partnership between KazMunayGas and Turkiye Petroleum.

Kazakhstan’s new Tax Code introduces a royalty regime, which opens opportunities for advanced raw material processing. The President of Kazakhstan called on Turkish investors to create a joint fund and take part in mining projects as well as the development of natural resources.

IT and education

One of the key topics discussed during the talks was joint development in the field of information technology. President Tokayev shared Kazakhstan’s recent achievements in this area, and both leaders explored new opportunities to strengthen strategic cooperation between Kazakhstan and Türkiye in the tech sector.

Education remains another strong pillar of the bilateral relationship. Today, more than 12,000 Kazakh students are studying in Türkiye, while around 300 Turkish students are enrolled in higher education institutions in Kazakhstan. Soon, two Maarif Foundation schools will open in Astana and Almaty, along with branches of Türkiye’s leading universities. In 2026, a new school will open in Türkiye’s Gaziantep province, which was heavily affected by the earthquake, as part of an initiative proposed by President Tokayev.

To further promote two-way tourism, Kazakhstan will introduce a 90-day visa-free regime for Turkish citizens.

State Honor

During his official visit, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was awarded the highest state honor of the Republic of Türkiye, the Devlet Nişanı. The award was presented by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in recognition of Tokayev’s contribution to strengthening Kazakh-Turkish ties.

"Under the wise leadership of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kazakhstan has become a center of peace and stability in its region. In Türkiye, we sincerely rejoice in the achievements of our brotherly Kazakhstan. Your country’s contribution to the institutional development of the Organization of Turkic States also deserves high praise. You have repeatedly proven to be a true friend of Türkiye and the Turkish people. That is why I consider it a great honor to present you with the highest award of the Republic of Türkiye. I am confident that this order will become a symbol of the unbreakable friendship between our nations," said the President of Türkiye.

Tokayev expressed deep gratitude, calling the gesture a powerful symbol of the enduring friendship and brotherhood between the two nations. He emphasized that he had previously declined both domestic and foreign awards, but accepted this one as a tribute to the shared values, history, and strategic vision binding Kazakhstan and Türkiye.

The President of Kazakhstan described his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as a respected global statesman and a historic figure who has made an invaluable contribution to strengthening regional and global stability and security.

"I firmly believe that under your leadership, the Republic of Türkiye will continue moving forward with confidence into a new golden era. We will never forget that Türkiye was the first country to recognize Kazakhstan’s independence. This undeniable historical fact will forever remain in the memory of the sovereign Kazakh people," said the President of Kazakhstan.

The two presidents also exchanged views on key global issues. They expressed a shared commitment to resolving all conflicts and disagreements through peaceful means and diplomatic dialogue. President Tokayev thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the productive talks and invited him to visit Kazakhstan at a convenient time.

As a result of the visit, Kazakhstan and Türkiye signed 18 intergovernmental and interagency agreements, as well as a joint declaration summarizing the outcomes of the fifth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council. The presidents reaffirmed their readiness to take the strategic partnership between the two countries to a fundamentally new level.

Earlier, Kazinform News Agency reported that Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan chaired the 5th meeting of the Kazakhstan-Türkiye High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) in Ankara.