This week, Kazakhstan welcomed President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Félix Tshisekedi on his first state visit to the country. During the bilateral talks, the two sides explored opportunities to expand trade and deepen cooperation across transport and logistics, mining, agriculture, IT, and digitalization. Both governments agreed to elevate relations between Astana and Kinshasa to a new level and to establish a solid foundation for long-term, effective partnership.
Ozhet A. Shegirbayev.
At the conclusion of the meetings, President Tokayev awarded Félix Tshisekedi the Order of Dostyk-I (Friendship), in recognition of his substantial contribution to strengthening cooperation between Kazakhstan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, fostering friendship between the two nations, and supporting international and regional security and stability.
Overall, within Kazakhstan’s increasingly active international agenda, Africa has quietly emerged as a new foreign policy direction.
In the first half of this year alone, Kazakhstan hosted visits by the President of Rwanda and the Spiritual Leader of the Yoruba People of Nigeria. During the Rwandan President’s visit, discussions centered on the potential import of beryllium to Kazakhstan. At the Astana International Forum, a dedicated session was held on Kazakhstan–Africa cooperation. Earlier this spring, the foreign ministers of Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso also visited Astana. In late 2023, Kazakhstan received the President of Guinea-Bissau, followed shortly by the President of Togo in November.
The main themes on Kazakhstan’s agenda with African partners include trade, transport and logistics, investment in the mining and metallurgical sectors, and the export of ICT, technological products, and wheat.
This growing engagement is also reflected institutionally. For a long period of time Kazakhstan maintained only three embassies on the African continent — in Ethiopia, Egypt, and South Africa. Today, that number has doubled to six. A presidential decree in December 2020 established the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Morocco. In December 2024, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador presented credentials to the President of Algeria, and in May 2025, a new Ambassador was appointed to Kenya.
From a practical standpoint, trade figures illustrate positive momentum. In 2022, turnover peaked at $1 billion, driven largely by geopolitical shocks and reconfigured supply chains. Since then, steady growth has resumed: in 2024, bilateral trade reached $783 million, a 15,1% increase over 2023.
Kazakhstan’s export profile is dominated by sulfur (64%), crude oil (28,5%), coal (2,9%), and coal tar distillation products (0,89%), while imports from Africa are more diversified, led by mixtures of aromatic substances (14,7%), prepared binding agents (14%), cocoa paste (12,1%), tea (9,4%), and cocoa beans (6,5%), among others.
Still, logistics remains the primary bottleneck for advancing cooperation. The Kazakh government is actively addressing this challenge by exploring alternative routes. In 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin held talks on utilizing Iran’s Bandar Abbas port as a gateway to East African markets.
In contrast, investment flows from Africa remain limited. Since 2005, Kazakhstan has attracted a total of $106,3 million from African partners, with South Africa as the principal investor. However, in 2024, Angola slightly diversified the picture by investing $1,5 million into Kazakhstan’s economy.
Overall, Kazakhstan’s engagement with Africa can best be described as incremental yet pragmatic. What began with symbolic gestures is gradually transforming into a more substantive and multidimensional partnership, underpinned by mutual interest and a broadening agenda of cooperation.
The author is Ozhet A. Shegirbayev, a PhD candidate at the Institute of Public Administration and National Economy of RANEPA, Master of International Relations (2014), Master of Public Administration (2018), Deputy Head of the Information and Analytical Department of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Astana Times.
