ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Singapore signed commercial documents worth $275 million at the bilateral business forum on May 22, as part of President of Singapore Halimah Yacob’s first visit to Central Asia, reported the Prime Minister’s press service.
Kazakhstan-Singapore Business Forum. Photo credit: primeminister.kz.
The forum also resulted in bilateral agreements and memoranda to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, logistics, and training civil servants.
According to Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, Singapore is Kazakhstan’s largest trade and investment partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Strong and harmonious relations have been built between the countries over the past years.
Halimah Yacob delivers speech at the forum. Photo credit: primeminister.kz.
“With more than 230 Singaporean companies and joint ventures successfully operating in Kazakhstan, we have great potential to expand and deepen our economic ties,” Smailov said.
Bilateral trade grew by 65% to nearly $2 billion last year, while the volume of Singapore’s investments increased sixfold to a record $400 million.
“We have all the necessary prerequisites for the implementation of breakthrough investment projects,” said Smailov.
Alikhan Smailov and Halimah Yacob at the forum. Photo credit: primeminister.kz.
One of them is G4 City, a large-scale infrastructure project on the construction and development of satellite cities in the Almaty Region implemented with Surbana Jurong, a Singaporean government-owned company specializing in infrastructure and urban development.
Smailov emphasized cooperation with Indorama Corporation, a world-class sustainable chemical company.
He also pointed out the importance of the agreement reached between Kazakhstan Temir Zholy national railway company and PSA Singapore, a container transshipment hub, to create a joint venture that will accelerate the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, which connects China with Europe through Central Asia across the Caspian Sea.
The forum brought together over 200 representatives of government agencies and business circles of the two countries, including Singaporean companies that want to explore opportunities in Kazakhstan.
As President of Singapore Halimah Yacob noted, it will facilitate the diversification of the economies of both countries amid growing geopolitical challenges.
“Singapore remains open to an expanding partnership. Kazakhstan, with its vast resources and a strategic location in the heart of Central Asia, is an attractive place for investment,” Yacob said.
She added that Kazakhstan is Singapore’s largest partner in Central Asia and expressed confidence that the relations between the countries will continue to strengthen.
