Kazakhstan and Armenia: How cooperation between the two countries is developing
Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan is paying an official visit to Kazakhstan today. The high-level talks are planned to discuss prospects for further strengthening of Kazakh-Armenian cooperation in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres. Read about the relationship between Astana and Yerevan in the material of Kazinform News Agency correspondent.
Political cooperation
Kazakhstan and Armenia have an extensive legal framework, including 26 documents. Bilateral relations are developing in accordance with the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the countries, which is one of the significant documents in the existing bilateral treaty base, defining the priorities and nature of bilateral relations between the two countries. This Treaty was signed 25 years ago - on September 2, 1999 - in Astana.
Kazakhstan and Armenia have friendly relations, as evidenced by regular high-level meetings. Thus, on September 30, 2019, the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev paid a working visit to Armenia to participate in the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting. As part of the trip, a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of the Republic Nikol Pashinyan was held.
In early June 2021, the President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian (President of the country from April 9, 2018 to February 1, 2022 - editor's note) paid a working visit to Kazakhstan, during which he met with Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
In November 2022, the President of Kazakhstan visited the Republic of Armenia to participate in the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council, and in mid-April 2024, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made an official visit to this country, during which bilateral meetings were held with the President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Alen Simonyan.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in accordance with the agreements reached following the April visit of the Head of State to Armenia, the parties agreed on an official visit of the President of Armenia to Kazakhstan in October 2024.
In addition, according to the agreements, the visit of the President of the National Assembly of Armenia to Kazakhstan in 2025 is also being worked out.
The volume of mutual trade increased by 2.4 times
As part of the visit of the Head of State, a Kazakh-Armenian business forum was held in Yerevan, which was attended by more than 150 representatives of the business circles of the two countries, heads of government agencies, national companies, industry and regional business associations.
Armenian Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan noted that the forum provides a good opportunity to develop new areas of cooperation, establish mutually beneficial business ties, and confirms the interest of the two countries in deepening trade and economic cooperation. He emphasized that the mutual trade turnover of the two countries by the end of 2023 increased by 2.4 times compared to the previous year. Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Arman Shakkaliev called the forum historic, noting new opportunities - not only about complementing each other's economies, but also about developing export routes to third countries.
During the Kazakh-Armenian forum, negotiations were held between representatives of business circles and government agencies of both countries on the content of bilateral economic relations between Kazakhstan and Armenia. During the forum, many agreements were signed, such as: memorandums between the Chamber of International Commerce of Kazakhstan and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Armenia, government agencies and businesses in the field of tourism, investment, trade. In addition, several agreements were signed between Kazakh and Armenian companies in the oil and gas sector and petrochemicals on production and localization of production.
Also in May 2024, a Kazakh-Armenian round table "Armenia - Kazakhstan: New Approaches, New Cooperation" was held in Yerevan. Representatives of the expert community of the two countries took part in the event.
According to the Director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yerkin Tukumov, strengthening cooperation between expert circles of the two countries seems important in the context of understanding and analyzing current events, positioning and setting priorities.
“It is important, including through expert dialogue, to strengthen knowledge about each other,” says Erkin Tukumov.
The event provided an opportunity for experts from the two countries to exchange views on key areas of bilateral cooperation. The round table provided detailed information on the progress of large-scale political and socio-economic reforms in Kazakhstan, including measures taken to ensure the protection of human rights.
Kazakhstan invested $56.5 million in Armenia's economy
According to the Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan, by the end of 2023, trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Armenia amounted to $53.1 million (exports - $33.3 million, imports - $19.8 million). In January-July 2024, the level of mutual trade amounted to $17.9 million (exports - $9.4 million, imports - $8.5 million).
The comparatively low level of trade turnover is noted due to the high share of transportation costs (lack of railway communication and complex automobile logistics caused by the closed border between Armenia and Azerbaijan – editor’s note).
As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan notes, Kazakh-Armenian trade and economic relations should be considered inseparably from Eurasian integration. Given the presence of the Armenian-Iranian border, the EAEU-Iran free trade zone may be promising. At the same time, there is potential and prospects for the growth of Kazakh-Armenian trade, economic and investment cooperation in the Eurasian integration space. The relevance of the economic component also increases in the event of unblocking transport communications in Armenia and the South Caucasus.
An important tool for activating these processes is the joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, the 10th meeting of which was held on April 2, 2024, in the format of a video conference. On April 15, 2024, an intergovernmental Roadmap was signed between the Governments of Kazakhstan and Armenia on trade and economic cooperation for 2024-2025.
Currently, there are 435 legal entities, branches and representative offices with Armenian participation registered in Kazakhstan.
According to the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the gross inflow of FDI into the Republic of Kazakhstan from investors from Armenia from 2005 to 2024 amounted to $20.6 million. At the end of 2023, this figure was $6 million, which is twice as much as 2022 ($3 million). The gross inflow of FDI into Armenia from investors from the Republic of Kazakhstan from 2005 to 2024 amounted to $56.5 million.
In November 2023, a representative office of the largest union of entrepreneurs in Armenia "Mantashyants" was opened in Almaty with the aim of intensifying interaction and further expanding trade and economic ties. In 2024 alone, 3 Kazakh-Armenian business forums were held (April 9; March 27-30; August 26-28).
In addition, the resumption of direct flights on the Aktau-Yerevan-Aktau route by the Kazakhstan airline in 2023 will contribute to the expansion of business cooperation and tourism between the countries.
Great cultural ties
Kazakhstan and Armenia are united not only by economic interests, but also by rich cultural ties. Cultural and humanitarian cooperation between the countries is supported by the intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Culture, concluded on November 6, 2006. On April 27, 2023, within the framework of the 9th meeting of the Kazakh-Armenian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Program of Cooperation in the Field of Culture of the two countries for 2023-2025 was signed.
In April 2024, during the official visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Armenia, the Cooperation Program in the field of physical culture and sports between the two countries for 2024-2026 was signed. And in May, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed in Yerevan between the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the State Academy of Public Administration under the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia.
Since 2010, the Abai Center for the Kazakh Language, Culture and History has been opened at the Department of Turkology of the Yerevan State University. In September 2018, a conference on the topic "Works of Kazakh and Armenian Scientists in the Study of Armenian-Kipchak Written Monuments" was held in Yerevan. Within the framework of the Conference, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the National Center of Manuscripts and Rare Books of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Institute of Ancient Manuscripts "Matenadaran".
In August 2020, an online presentation of the collection “Abai-175” took place in Yerevan, consisting of two books - “Words of Edification” by Abai and the novel “The Path of Abai” by Mukhtar Auezov in Armenian, dedicated to the 175th anniversary of the great Kazakh poet and thinker.
In November 2021, a gala concert dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan's Independence was held in the capital of Armenia with the participation of the “Adyrna” folklore and ethnographic ensemble of the Almaty Regional Philharmonic named after Suyunbai.
On April 29, 2023, a solo concert of Kazakh singer Dimash Kudaibergen was held in Yerevan. And on April 30, 2023, the opening of the Days of the Kazakh Theater in Armenia took place. Creative groups of the Kazakh National Theater named after M. Auezov and the Kostanay Regional Drama Theater named after I. Omarov took part in the 21st “Armmono” International Theater Festival in Yerevan.
Let us recall that the Republic of Armenia is located in the southern part of the Caucasus. It borders Georgia to the north, Turkey to the west, Iran to the south, and Azerbaijan to the east. The country is divided into 11 marzes (regions), including the city of Yerevan, which holds the status of a separate marz. Armenia has a total of 27 cities and 31 urban-type settlements. The population of the country is just over 3 million people.