Kazakh President addresses Kazakhstan-Germany Business Forum

Close diplomatic relations between our countries are the key factor, contributing to the development of a wide range of economic ties, that underpin our multilateral relations. Being one of the major and most developed economies of the world, Germany sets global standards in areas of manufacturing, technologies, green economy and innovation. German products are known for their exceptional quality, said the Head of State. 

As Tokayev said, last year the bilateral trade turnover rose 41% to 3.9 billion US dollars. Direct investments from Germany also rose by a whopping 64%, reaching a record of 770 million US dollars.

Agreements were reached on a comprehensive portfolio of 66 joint investment projects worth 55 billion US dollars. We look forward to seeing German enterprises expand their presence in our country, localizing their production under our brand ‘Made in Kazakhstan with German quality!, said Tokayev.

The Kazakh President pointed out that Kazakhstan promotes a new economic paradigm, aimed at establishing an economy based on knowledge and innovations. To this end, the country is carrying out profound economic and social reforms to liberalize the economy based on the principles of fair competition and freedom of enterprise. Striving for further growth, Kazakhstan launched a new investment cycle in order to attract 150 billion US dollars in direct foreign investments by 2029.

In his speech, Tokayev outlined a number of promising areas of cooperation.

Extraction and processing of natural resources based on the pragmatic formula ‘investments and technologies in exchange for essential raw materials. Our country’s mineral resource base includes over five thousand undiscovered deposits, estimated at trillions of dollars. As of today, we produce 19 out of the 34 rare-earth materials that are crucial to the EU economies. As part of these efforts, the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA) and Kazakhstani partners are establishing a raw materials consortium. We look forward to the practical realization of this initiative. Besides, we welcome the plans of HMS Bergbau to carry out geological works to build a plant for processing lithium in East Kazakhstan. The volume of investments in this project stands at 500 million US dollars. The country’s rich strategic resource base provides many opportunities to expand industrial cooperation, said the Kazakh leader.

According to President Tokayev, the field of energy is another promising area. The Head of State noted that Kazakhstan holds the second-largest oil reserves in Eurasia and is a major exporter of energy resources to the global markets. Taking into account that the country’s 70% of oil exports fall at the European Union, Tokayev stressed the readiness to boost Kazakhstan’s export capacity and help reduce the global shortage of energy resources.

Localization of German production of oil and gas equipment and components in our country is a key priority. In a few words, our country welcomes the presence of German productions in Kazakhstan, so as to bring additional advanced technologies to our industrial landscape. Kazakhstan holds the considerable untapped potential in the sector of renewable energy, which attracts many major global players. For instance, investments of Germany’s Svevind group in Kazakhstan stand at 50 billion US dollars. The project’s goal is to produce green hydrogen and export it to European markets, added Tokayev.

According to the Kazakh leader, the strategic location of Kazakhstan makes it a key intraregional trade and logistics center in Eurasia.

Tokayev pointed out that the Middle Corridor is, currently, the shortest and most reliable route in Europe with the potential throughput of up to 10 million tons of cargo. Tokayev proposed to connect the Middle Corridor with the Trans-European Transport Network and the ЕС Global Gateway initiative to support the ever-increasing volume of trade between East and West.

The Head of State also pointed to huge opportunities for greater cooperation with Germany in the pharmaceutical area, noting that Kazakhstan is actively developing production of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment with the aim to increase the share of domestic products in the country by 50% by 2025.

As was said earlier, Kazakhstan attaches great attention to the promotion of agriculture. Ranked among the world’s top grain exporters, Kazakhstan aims to upgrade its agro-industry complex, introducing high technology and agro-technology innovations.

Kazakhstan intends to become the leading center of information technologies in Eurasia. The UN already included our country in the top 30 countries in terms of digitalization. Our country seeks broader cooperation within research projects, startups, technical education and trainings, as well as new complex IT projects, especially in the AI field, said Tokayev.

The Kazakh President stated that the Astana International Financial Center is ready to assist German companies to explore new opportunities for partnership.

Today’s AIFC is a unique regional center of investment, innovation and financial services, which embraces all advantages of the leading international financial centers such as Frankfurt, London, Dubai, New York and Singapore. The Center provides unprecedented conditions to attract investments, including favorable tax, visa and labor policies, individual support for each investor and impartial judicial system based on British law. Presently, around three thousand companies from 80 countries, including 20 German companies, operate within the Center. We hope this figure will rise in the nearest future, said Tokayev.

In conclusion, the Kazakh leader expressed confidence that today’s meeting will end up in significant results and become a significant step toward further deepening of economic ties between Kazakhstan and Germany.