Kazakh President calls on Türkiye to deepen partnership in investment, energy and agriculture
Today, around 4,000 Turkish companies are operating in Kazakhstan. A number of projects worth $6 billion have been successfully implemented in collaboration with them. This is what President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at the briefing for mass media in Ankara, Kazinform News Agency reports citing the Akorda press service.
These projects span key sectors such as energy, construction, industry, agriculture, infrastructure, medicine, tourism and other important areas. The volume of Kazakhstani investments in Türkiye has exceeded 2.5 billion US dollars.
Being an open and reliable partner, Kazakhstan is always ready to support Turkish investors and invites Turkish companies to join large-scale long-term projects, he said.
“Excellent opportunities are opening up for strengthening transport and logistics links. We should make the most of the strategic location of our countries,” the Kazakh President emphasized.
According to him, approximately 85% of land cargo transported between Europe and China passes through Kazakhstan.
He pointed out the importance of development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route known as the Middle Corridor which “meets the interests of both countries.”
“Kazakhstan modernizes its railway, builds automobile roads and renovates infrastructure to boost shipping on the Caspian Sea. We invite Turkish investors to actively join these projects. Our government is ready to offer special preferences to Turkish businesses,” stated the President.
During the talks the sides noted the importance of interaction in energy sector.
“1.4 million tonnes of Kazakh oil are transported annually to Türkiye via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. We have discussed the possibility of increasing supply volumes and welcome Turkiye Petroleum's intention to operate in the Kazakh market. We are also interested in using investment opportunities of Turkish companies and their experience in diversifying energy sources and building power plants. We are ready to jointly implement large-scale projects,” the Head of State added.
Another important sector, according to the Kazakh President, is agriculture.
He highlighted that Kazakhstan significantly contributes to ensuring food security of Turkiye and touched upon the issues of grain export and other agricultural products.
In his speech, the President emphasized Kazakhstan's interest in using Turkish technologies, “since the country attaches great importance to the digitalization of agriculture, increasing labour productivity and developing the processing industry.”
Earlier it was 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.
The meeting participants held a detailed discussion on the prospects for cooperation in defense industry, IT, artificial intelligence, finance, civil aviation, culture, education, healthcare, and tourism.
Following the 5th meeting of the Kazakhstan-Türkiye High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, the two presidents signed the Joint Declaration. 18 intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents were signed as well.
On Tuesday, the Kazakh President commenced his official trip to Türkiye with a visit to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder and first President of the Turkish Republic. He also met CEO of YDA Holding Hüseyin Arslan, Chairman of the Board of S Sistem Lojistik Hüseyin Barlin and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Orzax Group Selman Alimoğlu.
An official welcome ceremony for Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was held at the presidential palace in Ankara.
