BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Kazakhstan and
Russia have lengthy loved a strategic partnership, characterised by
deep mutual dependence and intensive cooperation throughout numerous
sectors. With the longest land border on the earth linking the 2
international locations, their historic, financial, cultural, and political ties
type the inspiration of their shut relationship. Presently, Russian
President Vladimir Putin is on a state go to to Kazakhstan – his
second this 12 months – a testomony to the continuing power and
significance of the bilateral relationship.
Rising financial cooperation
The commerce and financial interplay between Kazakhstan and
Russia is gaining vital momentum. In the course of the newest talks
between the 2 leaders, they set an formidable purpose to achieve a
mutual commerce turnover of $30 billion. This goal is nicely inside
attain, as present commerce volumes already exceed $28 billion,
representing 20% of Kazakhstan’s whole overseas commerce.
Russian investments in Kazakhstan have been sturdy, with
amassed investments from Russian firms within the Kazakh
financial system reaching $13 billion. At current, there are 23,000 Russian
firms working in Kazakhstan, with 4,000 of those having been
established simply within the final 12 months. In 2023 alone, Russian firms
invested greater than $3 billion in Kazakhstan, a sum matched by
Kazakhstan’s investments in Russia.
Joint efforts between the 2 international locations span numerous sectors,
together with power, business, transport, logistics, and agriculture.
Up to now, over 90 initiatives with a mixed worth of greater than $18
billion have been carried out, with 49 extra initiatives underway. As
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev famous in a bilateral assembly, these
ventures have created greater than 22,000 new jobs and maintain the
potential to generate a further 20,000 jobs within the close to
future.
Power sector cooperation
The power sector stays one of the vital dynamic areas of
Kazakhstan-Russia cooperation, marked by vital achievements.
By means of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which depends on Russian
territory and infrastructure, greater than 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil
exports attain international markets. The 2 international locations are additionally collectively
exploring and creating hydrocarbon fields, processing power
sources, and increasing their pipeline programs.
One of the vital notable initiatives is the event of the
“Kalamkas-sea – Khazar” offshore subject, in collaboration with
Russia’s Lukoil, with investments totaling greater than $6 billion. In
the petrochemical sector, Russian firms have partnered with
Kazakhstan to construct one of many largest polypropylene manufacturing
services in Central Asia, which started operations in 2022. One other
main undertaking includes the development of a polyethylene plant,
set to supply 1.2 million tons yearly, and a butadiene facility
with a manufacturing capability of 340,000 tons per 12 months, in
collaboration with Tatneft.
Moreover, within the fuel sector, Kazakhstan and Russia are making
vital strides. For the primary time, Russian fuel transit to
Uzbekistan is going down through Kazakhstan. A transit settlement has
additionally been signed with Gazprom to move Russian fuel to
Kyrgyzstan, whereas long-term fuel provide agreements for Kazakhstan
are below energetic consideration.
Strengthening power safety and inexperienced
initiatives
Along with conventional power initiatives, Kazakhstan and
Russia are prioritizing the event of a inexperienced, sustainable
financial system. Kazakhstan is actively investing in renewable power
sources, and Russian companions have already helped launch initiatives
with a complete capability of 370 MW. Future plans embody the
era of a further gigawatt of fresh power, a big
step in direction of lowering the area’s carbon footprint.
Russian state company Rosatom can be enjoying a key position in
Kazakhstan’s nuclear power sector. It’s offering technical
experience and assist for the event of Kazakhstan’s uranium
business and nuclear gas cycle. As President Putin emphasised,
Rosatom is well-positioned to tackle large-scale initiatives in
Kazakhstan, together with the development of a nuclear energy plant –
an initiative that was lately accredited by a referendum in
Kazakhstan.
Transport and logistics
integration
The 2 international locations have additionally targeted on enhancing their transport
and logistics infrastructure, with formidable plans for the long run.
Kazakhstan goals to overtake its rail community by repairing 11,000
kilometers of tracks and constructing greater than 5,000 kilometers of latest
railroads by 2030. One of many key initiatives is the event of
a contemporary multimodal transport community that can join Kazakhstan,
Russia, and China.
A notable success on this space is the joint development of a
new transport and logistics middle in Seljatino, Russia, which is
built-in into the broader China-Kazakhstan-Russia transit
hall. These logistics hubs are pivotal to facilitating the
clean stream of products throughout Eurasia, enhancing commerce and financial
integration within the area.
Partnership poised for the long run
Kazakhstan and Russia’s cooperation has reached unprecedented
ranges, touching nearly each side of their bilateral
relationship. The political dialogue continues to evolve, commerce and
financial cooperation is increasing, and cultural ties are
flourishing. The 2 international locations have lately signed a collection of
intergovernmental agreements, together with a Complete Financial
Cooperation Program for 2021-2025 and an Motion Plan for
2024-2026.
The continued growth of Kazakhstan-Russia relations will
undoubtedly present vital momentum for each international locations’
economies and strengthen their position in shaping the way forward for
Central Asia and past. The current agreements, alongside the
formidable initiatives outlined throughout President Putin’s go to, sign
that this alliance will proceed to develop and evolve, with each
nations dedicated to additional deepening their strategic partnership
for years to return.
