Kazakhstan and Great Britain Discussed Prospects for Economic Cooperation
As part of the visit of Nusrat Ghani, the Minister of State for Business and Trade, Minister of Industry and Economic Security of Great Britain, to Kazakhstan, the tenth-anniversary meeting of the Kazakh-British Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation (IPC) was held in Astana. Nazira Nurbayeva, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, leads the Intergovernmental Commission on the Kazakh side. The Embassy of Kazakhstan in the UK organized the event with the support of “NC “KAZAKH INVEST” JSC.
During the meeting, the parties reviewed the results of the IGC’s activities for 2023. They also discussed the current state and the prospects for expanding trade and economic cooperation. The participants touched upon interaction issues in trade, investment, mining, agriculture, water supply, green energy, and education.
In her speech, N. Nurbayeva emphasized that developing large-scale and mutually beneficial cooperation with the UK is one of our main priorities.
“Our trade and investment relationships remain strong and resilient. The UK is the seventh largest investor in the Kazakh economy, with total FDI inflows exceeding $21 billion since 1993. Last year, trade between the countries increased by 58% to $1.8 billion,” the Deputy Minister noted.
In turn, N. Ghani expressed high appreciation for Kazakhstan’s efforts to create favorable conditions for doing business in the region. She asserted the British side’s interest in deepening mining partnerships, processing critical minerals, infrastructure development, opening new educational institutions with British participation, and strengthening regional food security.
As a result of the visit, a Roadmap for strategic partnership in the field of critical minerals for 2023-2024 was agreed upon, and a Memorandum of Cooperation in higher education was signed.
The parties agreed to hold the next 11th meeting of the IPC in London in 2024.
