ASTANA – India and Kazakhstan should translate their strong political partnership into deeper trade, investment, digital and energy cooperation, participants said at the India-Kazakhstan Strategic Dialogue on Sept. 24.
Photo credit: The Astana Times
During the India-Kazakhstan: Anchoring Regional Stability and Economic Integration in a Multilateral World session, speakers highlighted the gap between close political ties and relatively modest bilateral trade.
Indian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Sailas Thangal said the countries need to address structural barriers limiting economic cooperation, including connectivity, logistics, customs procedures, payment mechanisms, market access and regulatory issues.
“Business delegations and exhibitions alone are not enough to enhance our bilateral trade and commerce,” he said, calling for concrete measures to turn existing potential into commercial partnerships.
“India and Kazakhstan have the trust, we have the complementarity, we have the political will. What we need now is to convert this essence into connectivity, governance and concrete partnership,” he said.
Trade remains below potential
Rakhim Oshakbayev, director of the TALAP Center for Applied Research, described the $923 million in bilateral trade in 2025 as a “long-standing anomaly.”
“Our political relationship is excellent. Many speakers talked about this. We are strategic partners,” he said.
However, he noted that logistical constraints continue to limit economic ties, describing the situation as “high politics, low logistics, big friendship, small trade.”
India accounted for around 0.64% of Kazakhstan’s total foreign trade in 2025. Oshakbayev attributed the limited trade partly to difficult transport routes.
“We are close in the sky and far on the ground,” he said, proposing greater focus on high-value goods and services that depend less on traditional transport links.
Uranium, pharmaceuticals and digital cooperation
Uranium was identified as one of the most promising areas for expanding economic ties. Oshakbayev referred to a long-term contract between Kazatomprom and India’s Department of Atomic Energy, saying press reports have valued it at more than $4 billion.
“Uranium is a perfect product for difficult geography, very high value, very small volume,” he said, proposing broader cooperation around the agreement, including training and the nuclear fuel cycle.
He also highlighted pharmaceutical production in Kazakhstan, which could serve both the domestic market and the wider Eurasian Economic Union market.
Participants identified artificial intelligence, fintech, cybersecurity, e-government and digital payments as other areas of potential cooperation, saying Indian technology companies could use Kazakhstan as a platform for accessing regional markets.
Strategic autonomy and regional cooperation
Former Indian Ambassador to Russia and former Deputy National Security Advisor Pankaj Saran said India and Kazakhstan could contribute to regional stability through diplomacy, economic development and diversified international partnerships.
“Both India and Kazakhstan maintain that independence of decision making. How can we both show to our people and to the region that we can be friends with everyone. We don’t have to choose one against the other,” he said.
Saran highlighted Kazakhstan’s balanced foreign policy and India’s strategic autonomy as areas of commonality, pointing to cooperation in regional stability, Afghanistan, peacekeeping and economic development.
He also cited growing energy requirements linked to the expansion of artificial intelligence and data centers as an area for potential cooperation.
Participants also called for stronger business, academic and people-to-people ties through joint research, healthcare, tourism and education, as well as practical cooperation in transport, energy, critical minerals, agriculture and technology.
The discussions highlighted opportunities to build on the strong political foundation of India-Kazakhstan relations by expanding trade, investment and practical economic cooperation.
