Kazakhstan and France reaffirm strategic partnership

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who arrived in Paris on an official visit on November 29, met with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the bilateral ties and what stands ahead in Kazakh-French relations. More about the visit and what it means for Kazakhstan is in the latest article of Kazinform.
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Tokayev’s visit to Paris comes just a day after his official visit to Moscow and his one-on-one meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Tokayev’s in-person meeting with Macron is also in the same month that he welcomed President of the European Council Charles Michel and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice–President of the European Commission Josep Borrell in Astana.

Diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and France were established on January 25, 1992. In March 1992, the Embassy of France in Kazakhstan was opened, and in July 1993 - the Embassy of Kazakhstan in France.

Trade and investments

France is one of the five largest investor countries, investing in the economy of Kazakhstan. It is the third largest trade partner among the European Union countries. Kazakhstan accounts for 90 percent of France's trade with Central Asia. Last year, two countries traded for $3 billion, where exports reached $2.39 billion and imports $664.8 million.


According to the data from the Kazakh Bureau of National Statistics, trade turnover in January-September 2022 reached $2.5 billion, including $1.9 billion in exports.

The main goods exported from Kazakhstan to France are crude oil - $1.7 billion (89.8% share), uranium - $146.5 million (7.6%), titanium and titanium products - $28 million (1.5%), sulfur - $10.2 million (0.53%), hydrogen, inert gases and other nonmetals - $1.9 million (0.1%), motors and electric generators - $1.3 million (0.07%).


Imports into Kazakhstan from France in January-September 2022 rose by 8.1% to $512.6 million.

The main goods imported into Kazakhstan from France are vaccines, blood serums - $40.5 million (with a share of 7.9%), turbojet and turboprop engines, gas turbines - $36.9 million (7.2%), medicines packaged for retail sale - $36.7 million (7, 2%), coal electrodes - $22.4 million (4.4%), radar and radio navigation equipment - $17.1 million (3.3%), electric transformers - $15.1 million (2.9%), fragrance mixtures - $12.7 million (2.5%), herbicides - $11.9 million (2.3%).

Overall, more than 170 French companies and joint ventures are operating in Kazakhstan, including Total Energies, Air Liquide, Airbus, Alstom, Orano and Danone. Joint projects are ongoing in power engineering, mining and light industry, construction, aerospace sphere, mechanical engineering, public health services and food industry.

Tokayev’s meeting with Macron

Tokayev emphasized that his visit to France is an opportunity to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries and to bring relations to a higher level.

During the talks with Macron, Tokayev focused on the country’s political and economic modernization. Macron, in turn, expressed his support for the reforms carried out in Kazakhstan and spoke about the opening of new French language schools in Kazakhstan in 2024.

The two sides exchanged views on strengthening ties between the two countries in the fields of education and culture and discussed current issues on the international agenda and the situation in Central Asia.

Meetings with French business giants

Later in the day, Tokayev met with heads of leading French companies to discuss prospects for cooperation. He highlighted the complicated geopolitical and economic environment, but new challenges open opportunities.

Tokayev said difficult times are the best time to build bridges and develop partnerships.

«We want to establish relations with France and Europe as a whole to further our common economic and political interests,«said the President.

Tokayev spoke about Kazakhstan’s efforts to promote a free and competitive market economy building on demonopolization and a firm stance to boost investment attractiveness.

«GDP growth for the first 10 months of this year reached 2.5%, which is better than forecasted. Despite disrupting existing supply chains, our exports increased by almost 50%. In the first six months of 2022, foreign partners invested about $15 billion in our economy, nearly 30% more than the previous year. Over the next 7 years, we plan to attract $150 billion in foreign direct investment. Our investment policy will be constantly improved so that Kazakhstan remains the most attractive place for investments in Central Asia,» said Tokayev, inviting French companies to look into investment opportunities in the country.

In terms of investment areas, Tokayev pointed out the agro-industrial complex and real sector of the company.

«We encourage investment in the deep processing of agricultural products and invite French food producers to explore related investment opportunities. We are ready to fully support such projects,» he said.

«Secondly, this is the real sector of the economy, where there is great potential for cooperation. We rank 6th in the world in natural resources and 10th in total mineral production [excluding oil and gas]. Global demand for critical materials and rare earth metals is expected to quadruple by 2040. The government is ready to provide the necessary support. In turn, we expect companies to bring their best practices, know-how and new technologies,» he continued.

Projects and agreements signed and planned

During his meeting with Tokayev, Total Energies Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said the company has invested $12 billion in the country and expressed confidence that in the future the company will remain one of the most prominent investors.

Total has been operating in Kazakhstan since 1992, mainly in oil and gas exploration and production. The company also has plans to build a wind power station of 1 GW capacity to be commissioned in 2026-2027 in the southeast of Kazakhstan. The preliminary cost of the project is $1.9 billion.

Alstom, a global leader in transportation, intends to invest 50 million euros in the implementation of projects on production, service maintenance of electric locomotives and equipment for rolling stock and railway transport infrastructure in the nearest future, announced Alstom CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge during his meeting with President Tokayev.

Alstom is present in Kazakhstan with more than 1,000 people and seven sites which include two plants. The first is in Astana for locomotive manufacturing and maintenance and the second is a KazElectroPrivod joint venture in Almaty for the production of point machines.

According to the company’s CEO, the plan is to open service centers in the cities of Astana, Almaty, as well as Zhambyl and Turkistan regions. All projects will train more than 1,000 local specialists.

Renewable energy, including nuclear energy, is also an important area in bilateral cooperation.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Orano Claude Imauven spoke about the nuclear industry development. KATCO, a joint venture between Orano and Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom, produces 15% of annual uranium production in Kazakhstan and 7% of global production. It operates the Muyunkum and Tortkuduk uranium deposits in southern Kazakhstan.

Tokayev’s visit to France follows up to a highly packed diplomatic schedule in recent months, with world leaders arriving in Astana for official visits, multiple summits and conferences. This, in turn, reaffirms Kazakhstan’s firm constructive and multi-vector foreign policy that helps the country navigate through the rough time of rising confrontations elsewhere in the world.

Written by Assel Satubaldina


Photo: gov.kz


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