ASTANA — Kazakhstan and Türkiye intend to explore new prospects for cooperation in various areas, increase trade volumes and facilitate investment during Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov’s visit to Ankara on April 25, reported the Prime Minister’s press service.
Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo credit: Prime Minister’s press service
Notably, both countries focus on joint projects in the deep processing of grain, coal chemistry, the oil and gas industry, and petrochemicals.
As part of the visit, Bektenov met with President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Vice President of Türkiye Cevdet Yılmaz, business leaders and took part in the Kazakh-Turkish business forum.
During the talks with Erdoğan, Bektenov conveyed warm greetings and best wishes on behalf of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and spoke about the country’s efforts in trade, economic, investment, energy, transport and logistics, agricultural, cultural and humanitarian cooperation.
At intergovernmental negotiations, Bektenov and Yılmaz discussed specific measures to build a mutually beneficial partnership and expressed their readiness to reveal prospects for cooperation in transit and transport, agriculture, manufacturing, digitalization and tourism.
Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov and Vice President of Turkey Cevdet Yilmaz. Photo credit: Prime Minister’s press service
During the 13th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, delegations in an expanded format reviewed the mechanism for strengthening industrial cooperation and outlined plans for the localization of pharmaceutical production, the exchange of best practices in medicine and the strengthening of cultural and humanitarian ties.
Türkiye is among the five largest trading partners of Kazakhstan and the top 20 investor countries. Both governments intend to reach a stable trade volume of at least $10 billion. Kazakhstan is willing to increase exports to Türkiye across 34 types of goods worth more than $630 million. These include products from the metallurgical, petrochemical, food and engineering industries.
In turn, the Turkish side expressed interest in implementing new joint projects in promising economic areas. In just one year, the volume of freight transport by rail and road increased by 40%. The parties outlined prospects for a threefold increase in the volume of cargo transportation as part of developing the potential of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor.
The round table was attended by the leaders of the Turkish business, including Chairman of YDA Holding group of construction companies Hüseyin Arslan, Chairman of Yildirim Holding, the fourth largest company in the global chrome industry, Robert Yuksel Yildirim, Chairman of Tiryaki Agro Gida, one of the world’s largest companies for the production and export of agricultural crops, Ahmet Tiryakioglu, Chairman of S Sisitem Lojistik Hussein Barlin, CEO of Abdi Ibrahim pharmaceutical company Suha Taspolatoglu, and Director of Nobel Ilac pharmaceutical manufacturer Sami Turkoglu.
