ASTANA — Kazakhstan is consistently focused on further strengthening its partnership with Germany across the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation and views Germany as one of its key strategic partners in the European Union, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin said during a Jan. 28 meeting with Dominik Mutter, Political Director of the German Federal Foreign Office.
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According to the ministry’s press service, the talks emphasized that trade and investment cooperation has traditionally been the foundation and driving force of Kazakh–German relations.
“Kazakhstan regards the development of trade and investment cooperation with Germany as a strategic priority and intends to give this process a systematic and long-term character, with an emphasis on trade diversification and the introduction of new technologies in key sectors of the economy,” Zhumangarin said.
Germany ranks seventh among Kazakhstan’s trading partners. From January to November 2025, bilateral trade turnover reached $3.9 billion, including exports of $1.2 billion (+7.9%) and imports of $2.7 billion (+6.1%).
Mutter reiterated that Germany’s strategic regional partnership with Central Asian countries, especially with Kazakhstan, is of great importance. He said Germany highly values Kazakhstan’s role in the region and positively assesses its multi-vector foreign policy.
“Our countries have a mutual interest in expanding cooperation. It is important to determine how we can increase the potential of interaction in the context of significant global changes,” he said.
Among the priority objectives identified were diversifying the structure of mutual trade and expanding the transfer of new technologies to key sectors of the economy.
Kazakhstan and Germany maintain a stable architecture of economic dialogue through the Intergovernmental Commission and the Business Council. These mechanisms have already delivered measurable results: with the participation of German companies, 36 investment projects worth 49.7 billion euros (US$59.4 billion) are being implemented in Kazakhstan, 23 of which have already been commissioned. Both sides emphasized that this foundation enables a transition toward more technologically advanced formats of cooperation.
The meeting also focused on expanding joint financing for strategically important projects, including the modernization of industrial enterprises and the development of green energy, with German banks and insurance instruments participating through the Kazakh–German joint financing mechanism. The Kazakh side confirmed its readiness to implement joint initiatives with German financial institutions and companies, including in hydrogen and green energy, with prospects for cooperation in “green” steel.
The officials also noted that Germany remains one of Kazakhstan’s key partners in the agro-industrial sector. Previously, the sides agreed on the concept of a Regional Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Central Asia. Practical work on establishing the Center and forming a Coordinating Council—tasked with defining strategic priorities and formats of further cooperation—has now begun.
