Kazakhstan and South Korea Strengthen Interregional Cooperation
A roundtable discussion entitled "Kazakhstan-Ulju" was held in Astana aimed at strengthening investment cooperation between Kazakhstan and South Korea. The event, organized by "NC "KAZAKH INVEST" JSC, was attended by representatives of government agencies, public associations, and businesses from both countries.
Speaking at the roundtable, Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Ardak Zebeshev, emphasized that Kazakhstan attaches great importance to the development of bilateral relations with South Korea. He noted that in 2022, a record inflow of South Korean investments into the economy of Kazakhstan in the amount of $1.5 billion was recorded, and trade turnover exceeded $6 billion, demonstrating growth of more than 2 times.
"There are all prerequisites for the qualitative development of bilateral cooperation, there are almost 500 enterprises with the participation of South Korean capital in our country. We have 58 joint investment projects on our constant radar. We are ready to support the initiatives of South Korean companies in Kazakhstan," emphasized Ardak Zebeshev.
In turn, the General Director of Ulju County, Baek Jinbaek, said that the goal of the South Korean delegation's visit to the capital of Kazakhstan is to establish economic relations. Therefore, companies working in various industries and interested in developing cooperation with Kazakhstan were included in the delegation.
Also, the Chairman of the Korean Association for Hydrogen Industry, Dong Hee Lee, drew attention to the fact that Kazakhstan has unlimited potential for cooperation, emphasizing that the Association, which includes 237 companies and more than 200 researchers, is interested in cooperation in implementing projects related to green hydrogen.
The Economic Advisor of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Kazakhstan, Kim Yolgyu, expressed hope that the countries would be able to cooperate in the hydrogen industry, paying special attention to the need to establish quality relationships.
In addition, the Managing Director of "NC "KAZAKH INVEST" JSC, Azamat Kozhanov, spoke on behalf of the Kazakh side about the opportunities of Kazakhstan in the fields of instrument engineering, chemical industry, and hydrogen energy, as well as about preferences and measures of state support provided to investors by the country's government. He noted that Kazakhstan is the largest economy in Central Asia, having attracted $28 billion in FDI last year.
Representative of KAZAKH INVEST invited Korean companies to implement investment projects in Kazakhstan, assuring that the national company is ready to provide all necessary support at all stages of implementation.
In turn, the Executive Director of AIFC, Nurlan Toimbek, spoke about the benefits of conducting activities and supporting investors on the AIFC platform, as well as the unique opportunities for placing regional headquarters in the AIFC to expand business in the region."
South Korea is one of the most important partners of Kazakhstan in Asia, and there are several intergovernmental agreements between the countries aimed at deepening trade and economic cooperation, promoting and protecting investments.
