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The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and Germany addressed the prospects of strengthening close political and economic cooperation

Astana, October 31, 2022 – Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs of German Annalena Baerbock arrived on her first visit to Kazakhstan, accompanied by a delegation of Bundestag deputies, entrepreneurs and German media. As part of the working program, she was received by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov and held talks with the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tleuberdi on the prospects of strengthening the close political and economic cooperation between Astana and Berlin.

During the meeting in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the parties exchanged views on the entire spectrum of Kazakhstan-German cooperation, in particular, the state of economic cooperation and the prospects of a further increase in trade turnover, that had reached €1.7 billion for the first eight months of this year, as well as new types of cooperation in the energy sector, considering the implementation of joint projects in the regions of Kazakhstan with the German flagships in the renewable energy Goldbeck Solar and Svevind.   

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs acknowledged the close and trusting dialogue, as well as the common vision on a set of issues on the international agenda. They emphasized the role of Kazakhstan in building an international, interethnic, interreligious dialogue for the sake of peace and harmony.  

Particular attention was paid to the interest of Astana and Berlin in constructive cooperation in the transport and logistics, agriculture, energy and cultural and humanitarian cooperation. Stressing that Kazakhstan is a reliable partner in the supply of minerals, food products, crude oil and other energy resources to Germany and Europe, Mukhtar Tleuberdi indicated the willingness of the Kazakhstan side to provide German partners with special preferences in exchange for large-scale investments and transfer of German technologies.  

Speaking at a joint press conference, Annalena Baerbock announced the opening of the German Hydrogen Diplomacy Office in Astana. The new structure of bilateral energy cooperation, planned to be created under the auspices of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, is designed to systematize practical interaction between government and expert circles of both countries in building a sustainable fuel and energy cycle.  

During the visit, individual meetings were held with the representatives of German political and business circles accompanying the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, including heads of economic structures and top managers from large companies, such as Lufthansa, Aurubis and Knauf, with the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar, Deputy Chair of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olga Perepechina, the members of the Kazakhstan-Germany parliamentary friendship group in the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Ministers of Energy, Infrastructure and Industrial Development, etc.

The German side was informed of the policy of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to build a “Just and Fair Kazakhstan”, the large-scale democratic reforms being carried out in the country, as well as the commitment to holding the open and free presidential elections on November, 20. The German delegation was also briefed on the measures to further improve the investment climate and possibilities for mutually beneficial cooperation with our country in the green energy, agriculture, as well as to form competitive transport and logistics chains. In all, the Germany delegation included around 50 representatives of official and business circles, demonstrating a growing interest of the largest European economy in unlocking the full potential of cooperation with our Republic and the Central Asian region as a whole.   

As part of the visit, it is planned to hold meetings and events with the participation of Annalena Baerbock, in particular, her meeting with the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Republic of Kazakhstan Elvira Azimova and Head of the OSCE Program Office in Astana city Volker Frobarth, tours of the ALZHIR memorial complex and museum, as well as the Nur-Alem future energy museum located on the territory of EXPO-2017.  

This year, Kazakhstan and Germany are marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations, which have been characterized to date by progressive development in all sectors of strategic partnership. By the way, over the past decade, our country has accounted for about 80% of all direct German investments in Central Asia, which are mainly aimed at the qualitative development of healthcare, agriculture and transport logistics. Since 2005, German companies have invested $5.2 billion in Kazakhstan, and there are 600 enterprises in Kazakhstan with the participation of German companies. By the end of 2021, bilateral trade turnover had reached $2.2 billion, with a 20% increase over the pre-pandemic figure.

Перспективы укрепления тесного политического и экономического партнёрства обсудили главы МИД Казахстана и Германии (www.gov.kz)