Kazakh, German presidents discuss bilateral ties, trade expansion

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Tuesday underlined the exchange of raw materials for technologies to be an “effective formula” for his country’s ties with Germany.

“Kazakhstan can provide the German economy with energy and the necessary raw materials, which is especially important in the current difficult geopolitical and geo-economic period,” said Tokayev during a press conference with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the capital Astana, according to a statement by the Kazakh presidency.

The statement said that Tokayev noted the supply of Kazakh oil to the oil refinery in the German city of Schwedt as a good example.

Both leaders held meetings earlier to effectively implement planned projects, including the expansion of transport and logistics links.

“Today, the importance of the Trans-Caspian international transport route, called the ‘Middle Corridor,’ is growing. We paid special attention to this topic during today’s talks … We stressed the need to develop transport and logistics infrastructure, which has great prospects,” said Tokayev.

Tokayev said he and his German counterpart discussed bilateral ties, noting that “mutually beneficial trade, economic and investment cooperation is developing dynamically” in the past 31 years.

Kazakhstan is a significant partner of Germany within the Central Asia region. Astana accounts for 83% of Germany’s trade, and the volume of mutual trade amounted to about $10 billion last year, Tokayev stated.

“With my visit to your country, I would like to pay tribute together with you to the diverse relations between our countries and express the message that we want, as you emphasized in the current tense international situation, a greater and closer partnership with Kazakhstan and the states of Central Asia,” said Steinmeier.

Steinmeier, who arrived in Astana for an official visit, underlined the long-term relationship between the two countries and said that the bilateral cooperation between Astana and Berlin has grown stronger.