French businesses are set to invest in the construction of a
hydrogen production plant at the Pavlodar Oil Chemistry Refinery, with the
project valued at 90 million euros. Another French company plans to open a
joint venture with Kazakhstan in the field of cloud and AI solutions. The two
sides signed 15 cooperation agreements at a joint investment forum in Astana.
The documents provide for partnerships across key sectors of the economy. Kazakhstan
is currently France's leading partner in Central Asia, accounting for 80% of
all its trade in the region. Last year, bilateral trade grew by 31%, reaching a
record $5.5 billion, with the majority made up of Kazakh exports. Over the
years of cooperation, French investment in Kazakhstan has totaled nearly $20
billion. As of the end of 2024, France had invested $843 million into the
Kazakh economy.
«Looking ahead, we are eager to deepen cooperation in the
development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, a key artery
linking Europe and Asia. Kazakhstan is commited to developing long-term
partnership with French universities, especially in critical materials,
agriculture, hydrology, geodesy, geophysics, and power engineering. We are also
expanding interaction in water management, pharmaceuticals, tourism, and
artificial intelligence with promising dialogues underway with leading French
companies,» said Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
«So, there is a momentum because France and Kazakhstan need
to diversify the partnership and we have now what we call a strategic
parthership that President Tokayev and President Macron signed last November.
And now we are just making it more concrete with this forum because now
businessmen meet each other, businessmen meet government people,» said Laurent
Saint-Martin, France’s Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Nationals
Abroad.
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