A meeting was held in Astana between Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alibek Kuantyrov and the His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Eastern Europe and Central Asia David Reed MBE, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan reports.
The discussion focused on prospects for further strengthening Kazakh-British trade, economic and investment partnership, as well as priority items on the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission.
Positive dynamics in bilateral trade and significant potential for its further growth were noted. In this context, it was emphasized that Kazakhstan is the United Kingdom’s largest trading partner in Central Asia: of nearly GBP 5 billion in UK trade with the countries of the region, around GBP 2.7 billion accounts for Kazakhstan.
Particular attention was paid to the development of investment cooperation in critical minerals, energy, infrastructure, transport and logistics, financial services, digitalization, artificial intelligence and education. The potential for cooperation in the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route was also highlighted, taking into account Kazakhstan’s strategic location and its role in ensuring resilient supply chains between Europe and Asia.
The meeting also addressed opportunities to attract British expertise and financial instruments for the implementation of infrastructure, energy and industrial projects in Kazakhstan. In this context, the ratified Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement was noted as creating a favorable framework for advancing concrete mutually beneficial projects, expanding institutional engagement and ensuring the practical implementation of agreements across key areas of the bilateral agenda.
Humanitarian and educational cooperation was also noted to be gaining momentum, including through the expanding presence of British universities in Kazakhstan. Education, skills development and the advancement of the innovation ecosystem were highlighted as important elements of long-term economic partnership.
Following the meeting, readiness was reaffirmed to further deepen the Kazakh-British strategic partnership, expand mutual trade and ensure the practical implementation of the agreements reached.
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