Kazakhstan-Russia commodity turnover hit $27bln in 2023 - President Tokayev
Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has arrived in Astana for a state visit, took part in the plenary session of the 20th Kazakhstan-Russia Interregional Cooperation Forum via videoconference, Kazinform News Agency reports.
Welcoming the participants, the President of Kazakhstan noted that over two decades, the Forum turned out to be an effective platform that sets the tone for strengthening the strategic partnership between the countries.
The Kazakh President said that the cooperation in trade-economic and investment spheres, and industrial cooperation demonstrates stable growth.
"Indeed, trade turnover is rising. Last year, it reached an impressive amount of 27 billion US dollars. At the same time, Russia accounts for almost 20% of Kazakhstan's foreign trade. The total volume of direct Russian investment approached 25 billion US dollars. The annual inflow of investment has grown significantly, having doubled last year to reach 3 billion US dollars. 23 thousand Russian and joint companies are successfully operating in Kazakhstan, which is almost half of all our enterprises with foreign participation," said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
In his remarks, the Head of State touched upon the key issues of the two countries' cross-sectoral interaction. In his opinion, the Kazakh-Russian cooperation in fuel and energy sector has reached a brand new level.
"Together with Lukoil we have begun developing the Kalamkas-Sea, Khazar large offshore deposits. The volume of investments in the project is set to reach 6 billion US dollars. On top of that, the Russian partners are actively involved in the implementation of petrochemical projects. Together with Siburg, in 2022, we commissioned Central Asia's largest polypropylene plant with an annual capacity of 500,000 tons. Today this enterprise supplies raw materials to the Kazakhstani processers and exports products to Russia, China, Türkiye and other countries. In September, we launched the construction of a polyethylene plant with a capacity of 1.2 million tons per annum. Jointly with Tatneft, we are implementing a butadiene manufacturing project with an annual capacity of 340,000 tons. We have achieved significant progress in gas industry. For the first time, the transit of Russian gas to Uzbekistan through the territory of Kazakhstan has been launched. The agreement with Gazprom on the transit of Russian gas to Kyrgyzstan was signed. Long-term supplies of Russian gas to Kazakhstan are being negotiated," Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed confidence that the joint efforts aimed at expanding trade and economic cooperation enable the parties to adapt to modern challenges and create a solid foundation for sustainable growth of the two countries' economies.
"We need to maintain this high level of our multifaceted interaction. It is important to continue working to simplify cross-border procedures and eliminate trade and logistics barriers in order to provide favorable conditions for Kazakh and Russian businesses. I am confident that the package of agreements signed during the Forum, as well as certain initiatives outlined, will let reveal the significant potential of interregional cooperation, and will give a strong impetus to the development of our countries' economies," the Head of State concluded.
