A state visit of German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to the country will give a new impetus to the interaction of the countries, as noted by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during a welcoming ceremony for the German delegation. Such sectors as investment, energy, transport and logistics remain the priority areas of partnership. It is worth noting that to date Kazakhstan is one of the most important trade and economic partners of Germany in Central Asia. The country accounts for over 80 percent of Germany’s foreign trade volume with Central Asian states. Last year, the mutual trade volume reached around $10 billion. Kazakhstan is among Germany’s 50 key economic partners and is also one of the top four oil-supplying countries.
“Germany is considered here in Kazakhstan as a key partner in Europe, and we will be doing our utmost in order to enhance our cooperation in a variety of domains. Just now we had a detailed, very frank exchange of views on so many issues relating to our cooperation, our interaction in the international organizations, as well as on the geopolitical situation,” Tokayev said.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also invited German companies to invest in green energy. In particular, the parties welcomed the launch of the construction of a green hydrogen plant. The project worth $50 billion of investments is being implemented by a German-Swedish company. In addition to the energy sector, business circles express interest in the country’s transport and logistics potential as well. Especially given that to date Kazakhstan is becoming an important regional hub, which accounts for 80 percent of transit overland traffic on the China-Europe route. The parties paid much attention to increasing cooperation within the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, whose role is growing every year, which is evidenced by real numbers. Last year, about 1.7 million tonnes of cargo were transported along the corridor, which is twice as much as in 2021.
“I can confirm what you are saying about the status of our bilateral relations. We are not only looking back to the past 30 years of diplomatic relations. We are looking to the presence of our especially but not only economic growing relations. You were mentioning that many German companies are heavily invested in the meanwhile here in Kazakhstan. And beyond economic relations, we are really following with Mr. President: huge respect your course of reforms here in Kazakhstan,” Steinmeier said.
Following the talks, the parties signed a number of agreements, including memorandums of cooperation between ministries and agencies, as well as partnership agreements in the field of passenger transportation, joint geological exploration of minerals and the creation of the Kazakh-German Institute for Sustainable Engineering. The latter will open in Aktau in the near future. Afterwards, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Frank-Walter Steinmeier held a joint briefing. The Kazakh President also shared his opinion on matters related to the international agenda.
“We are concerned about the political and economic tensions in the world. Of course, all challenges should be resolved peacefully for the benefit of people and future generations. It is well known that Kazakhstan has been calling on the conflicting parties for peace, offering them a neutral platform for negotiations. The country stands ready to actively participate in resolving conflicts through diplomatic means,” Tokayev stated.
Over 200,000 ethnic Germans living in Kazakhstan and more than a million Kazakh Germans residing in Germany also act as a bridge between the two countries. The parties highlighted that cultural and humanitarian ties between Astana and Berlin will continue to grow stronger.
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