Berlin, Germany
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev together with his Central Asian colleagues participated in the round table of the Eastern Committee of the German economy.
In his address, the Head of State dwelt on the key issues of economic interaction between the Central Asian countries and Germany.
– Our region is a unique strategic hub connecting the Eurasian space. Key trade and economic corridors pass through our countries, we have vast natural resources. All this opens up great prospects for strengthening trade and investment cooperation with Germany and the European Union as well, – stressed Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Noting Kazakhstan's important role in regional trade and economic relations with Germany, the President made a number of proposals to increase interaction and take it to a new level.
– We are interested in expanding cooperation in the field of critical raw materials. Today, global demand for rare earth metals far exceeds supply. Further technological development of the countries will only strengthen this trend. Kazakhstan, like other Central Asian countries, has huge reserves of critical metals and minerals needed by the European Union. In this direction, we have great prospects not only for their joint mining, but also for their processing, – said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The Head of State informed the participants of the meeting that an agreement had been reached the previous day with the management of the German company HMS Bergbau to carry out geological exploration work with a view to building a lithium processing complex with an investment of $500 million.
– Industrial cooperation is also reaching a qualitatively new level. This will be given a powerful impetus by the implementation of the Linde project with full gas processing for urea production. The total investment is estimated at $1.4 billion, – stated the President.
Other priority areas of cooperation, according to Kazakhstan's leader, include hydrocarbon supplies, strengthening global food security, cooperation in transit-transport and financial spheres.
The Head of State drew special attention of the meeting participants to the importance of joint efforts in the sphere of sustainable development and green economy.
– Kazakhstan is ready to contribute in every possible way to the advancement of the regional climate agenda. We invite German partners to participate in the Regional Climate Summit to be held in Kazakhstan in 2026 under the auspices of the UN. We have committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. However, to achieve this, we will need to significantly modernize our economy and attract more than 600 billion investments in green technologies, – said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
In conclusion, the President expressed confidence that the outcome of the meeting would open new horizons of economic cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and Germany.
Along with the Central Asian leaders, presentations were delivered by Cathrina Claas-Mühlhäuser, Chairwoman of the Board of the Eastern Committee of the German Economy, as well as top managers of a number of German companies such as Linde, Knauf, Aurubis, German Seed Alliance GmbH, Ernst Klett AG, and others.
