The United Kingdom is one of Kazakhstan’s most important strategic partners, said Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Trade and Integration Serik Zhumangarin during his March 1 meeting with Baroness Emma Nicholson of Winterbourne, the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Kazakhstan, reported the Prime Minister’s Office.
The meeting agenda included trade and economic relations between the two countries and agricultural machinery imports, among other major areas of cooperation.
“Over the many years, our cooperation has only grown stronger, establishing close and trusting relations. We have created effective mechanisms of bilateral partnership, including a strategic dialogue at the level of foreign ministers, an Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kazakhstan in the UK Parliament, as well as the Business Council,” said Zhumangarin.
Zhumangarin said the Kazakh government is committed to deepening and strengthening cooperation with the UK in all areas.
The UK is among the top 10 investors in Kazakhstan. Since 2005, approximately $16.4 billion of direct investments from the UK have been attracted to Kazakhstan.
According to the Ministry of Trade and Integration, trade turnover between Kazakhstan and the UK increased by 58.7 percent, reaching $1.8 billion in 2022.
Exports increased by 71.1 percent and were $1.5 billion mainly due to increased supplies of oil, copper, and cathodes from copper, raw aluminum, ferroalloys, ethyl alcohol, petroleum products. Imports also increased by 24.4 percent and exceeded $380 million.
Baroness Nicholson met with Dauren Salykov, the general director of the National Chamber of Aberdeen-Angus Breed in Kazakhstan, which signed recently the first commercial deal with the UK company to develop cooperation in cattle breeding. She also visited Eurasia Group, exclusive dealers of British manufacturer JCB’s agricultural machinery, and KazBeef Farm in the region.
Baroness Nicholson’s four-day visit to Kazakhstan included ministerial meetings, talks with local business people and heads of Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund and Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs in Astana and participation in the Alumni Awards, an annual event in partnership with UK universities, reported the British Embassy in Astana.