Kazakhstan eyes prospects of cooperation with Italy and Romania

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Roman Vassilenko held meetings with the Ambassadors of Italy and Romania to Kazakhstan, Kazinform News Agency has learnt from the press service of the Kazakh MFA.

At the meeting with the Italian Ambassador Marco Alberti, the discussions were focused on the outcomes of the recent official visit of the Head of State to Rome.

The two diplomats outlined steps towards the realization of the agreements reached at the highest level, along with plans for hosting various events throughout the year and emphasized the importance of the next 9^th meeting of the Intergovernmental Kazakh-Italian Working Group on industrial and economic cooperation and exchange.

During the conversation with Ambassador of Romania Madalina Lupu, both parties addressed the issues of practical implementation of agreements achieved during the official visit of Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu to Bucharest last December. Joint plans for the current year were also deliberated.

Photo credit: press service of the Kazakh MFA

Given the substantial volumes of bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and Romania, the Deputy Minister underlined the necessity to further expand bilateral trade, economic and investment ties, highlighting the important role of the Intergovernmental Kazakh-Romanian Commission on Trade-Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation. The Commission’s 17^th meeting is scheduled for February in Bucharest.

Italy stands as Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner in Europe and the third largest in the world (after Russia and China). Trade turnover for January-November 2023 totaled $14.5 billion (exports – $13.4 billion, imports – $1.1 billion). Foreign direct investment inflows from Italy from 2005 through the first half of 2023 amounted $7.3 billion. More than 300 enterprises with Italian capital operate in Kazakhstan.

Romania is Kazakhstan’s leading trade and investment partner in the Central and Eastern European region, ranking 5^th in Europe and 12^th globally. Bilateral trade for January-November 2023 reached $2.6 billion. Over the past decade, Romania has invested 1.57 billion dollars in the Kazakhstan’s economy.

There are 37 companies with Romanian capital registered in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan’s largest foreign asset, KazMunaiGas International operates in Romania, and it is currently one of the most important investors and taxpayers in the country.