Kazakh President says trade with Russia reaches $28bn last year
During the 2nd Central Asia – Russia summit, Kazakh leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev highlighted the key areas of multilateral and bilateral cooperation between the Central Asian nations and Russia, naming trade and industrial cooperation as a top priority, Kazinform News Agency has learnt from Akorda.
In his speech, the Kazakh President urged utmost efforts to timely implement the Joint Action Plan, which includes over 50 points, set to be adopted following the summit.
Tokayev said Russia accounts for a third of the total trade turnover of Central Asian countries, surpassing 50 billion US dollars, up 20%, in 2024. Kazakhstan is responsible for more than half of the country’s trade with the region, which reached 28 billion US dollars last year, added the Kazakh leader.
Russia is among major investors in Kazakhstan’s economy, with more than 26 billion US dollars invested in its development. The inflow of Russian investments alone increased by 33% last year, exceeding 4 billion US dollars. This became possible thanks to the accelerated development of industrial cooperation. A total of 114 projects with an investment volume exceeding 21 billion US dollars have been implemented. Another 33 projects worth more than 4.5 billion US dollars are currently under realization, said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The Kazakh leader said that both sides support the gradual removal of all trade barriers, the intensification of mutual trade, and the expansion of the range of traded goods.
The achievement of these goals is facilitated by the creation of cross-border trade zones, the regular organization of forums for border regions, business forums, exhibitions, and fairs, as well as the development of electronic trading platforms. At present, a network of joint trade and industrial zones and industrial hubs is being formed in Central Asia. These sites create conditions for production localization, cooperation along the entire value chain, and the establishment of stable supply channels. The participation of Russian businesses in such projects contributes to the long-term presence of Russian-made goods in our markets, stated the President.
Earlier, it was reported President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev participated in the second Central Asia-Russia summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
