Olaf Scholz at Maqsut Narikbayev University: German Chancellor discusses key global challenges with the students
During an official visit to Kazakhstan, Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz visited Maqsut Narikbayev University, where he met with students. The issues raised during the dialogue touched upon such important topics as water management, infrastructure development, and the growing influence of far-right political movements in the western countries, Kazinform correspondent reports.
During the session, one of the students asked a question about cooperation in the field of water resources, emphasizing that Germany is recognized as a leader in this area. In response, Chancellor Scholz noted the importance of this issue for Central Asia and expressed readiness to work together in this direction.
“When I was preparing for this visit, I knew that this is a significant problem among the Central Asian countries. In this regard, cooperation really makes sense. It is important to start as early as possible. Such a future will help us find common water resources together and not pollute them. Therefore, it is necessary to work on this. I believe that it is through joint cooperation that we can achieve this,” Scholz responded.
In addition, the Chancellor supported the development of the Middle Corridor and emphasized that Germany is interested in strengthening logistics ties with Kazakhstan.
“There is a lot of infrastructure connecting different cultures. It's a really important project to develop infrastructure like the Middle Corridor, which will help to change the situation. Even in societies that have a very developed infrastructure, improvement is something that causes differences. I would be very much in support of the idea of improving the infrastructure in our countries and we have made a proposal regarding the possibilities of investing here for the infrastructure that we can improve,” he said.
Another important topic of the meeting was the growing influence of far-right political movements in Germany and the West as a whole. Scholz drew attention to the global challenges facing democratic states.
He pointed out that in countries like Finland, Sweden, and Germany, despite low unemployment, people are uncertain about their future, fueling skepticism about the world’s direction. Scholz urged leaders to act now on global challenges like climate change, emphasizing that a fair and sustainable future depends on collective cooperation.
During his visit, the Chancellor signed a Joint Declaration on Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Germany. Scholz will also take part in the Central Asia + Germany summit, where strategic partnership issues in a number of key areas, including trade and economic cooperation and joint investment projects, will be discussed.
