ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu highlighted India’s role as a key strategic partner and outlined a vision to triple bilateral trade, expand energy and digital cooperation, and invite Indian investment in infrastructure and innovation during the Central Asia–India Business Council meeting on June 5 in New Delhi.
Strategic partnerships and trade growth
Nurtleu pointed to the potential to increase bilateral trade from $1 billion in 2024 to $3 billion in the near future and noted a 41% rise in Indian investments in Kazakhstan, which have exceeded $525 million, reported Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service.
“We consider this only as the beginning. Kazakhstan, as the largest economy in Central Asia and a transit hub between East and West, is ready to strengthen cooperation with India in areas such as trade, digital transformation, critical minerals, energy security, and humanitarian ties,” he said.
The Central Asia – India Business Council reaffirmed the shared commitment to deepening multilateral partnership. Photo credit: Kazakh Foreign Ministry.
Nurtleu identified transport and logistical connectivity as a key area for cooperation, emphasizing the importance of developing international corridors, notably the North – South route and the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, or the Middle Corridor. He invited the Indian side to participate in joint infrastructure projects, including multimodal routes, fiber-optic lines, and regional energy grids.
Kazakhstan also expressed its readiness to become a reliable supplier of strategic resources, including energy resources, rare earth metals, and agricultural products within the framework of India’s Viksit Bharat (Developed India) initiative.
Innovation and tourism
The meeting participants explored opportunities in digital technologies: over the past three years, the export of digital solutions from Kazakhstan has increased almost 12-fold, reaching $690 million. Nurtleu called for deeper cooperation in IT, startups, research, and knowledge exchange.
In agriculture and food security, it was proposed to combine Kazakhstan’s agrarian potential with India’s food processing technologies.
Tourism was noted as another promising area, with Indian visitor numbers reaching 150,000 in 2024 — almost twice as many as the year before. Growth was driven by a 14-day visa-free regime and direct flights between Almaty and New Delhi. Kazakhstan also expressed readiness to support the opening of hotels and restaurants serving Indian cuisine in key cities.
Nurtleu highlighted Kazakhstan’s favorable investment climate, including a new 10-year “golden visa” for investments over $300,000 and the role of the Astana International Financial Centre as a regional hub.
He proposed hosting the next council session in Kazakhstan, expressing confidence in concrete business outcomes.
The Central Asia – India Business Council reaffirmed the shared commitment to deepening multilateral partnership and creating new growth points amid the global transformation of the world economy.
