The visit of the Federal Chancellor of Germany to Kazakhstan with the aim of strengthening ties and intensifying regional cooperation

Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz will pay an official visit to Kazakhstan on September 16-17. During the visit, Scholz will meet with President Kassym-Jomart Tokaev and take part in the second meeting in the format of Central Asia + Germany.

Yerbulat Seilekhanov, Chief Researcher of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KISS), outlined the key topics on the agenda and what to expect from the visit in a recent article.

Highlights of trade and investment

Germany is Kazakhstan's key strategic partner in Europe, as the two countries share growing economic cooperation, strong political ties, and close cooperation on environmental and humanitarian issues, including through international organizations.

Bilateral relations show significant growth in the trade, economic and investment spheres. In 2023, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Germany reached $3.9 billion, which is 41% more than in 2022. Kazakhstan's exports to Germany increased 3.1 times to $742.3 million, which includes oil and oil products, coal, ferroalloys, phosphorus, fish fillets and aircraft. majority.

Imports from Germany to Kazakhstan increased by 41.2% to $3.1 billion, with pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, automobiles, agricultural machinery and other industrial goods dominating. Kazakhstan accounts for 83% of Germany's total trade with Central Asia.

Among the largest investment projects is a $50 billion green hydrogen production cluster in the Mangystau region, led by the German-Swedish company Svevind. Another well-known project is the construction of a $500 million lithium plant in East Kazakhstan by Bergbau AG.

In 2023, Germany included Kazakhstan in the list of 34 countries entitled to preferential investment guarantees.

Key issues of the agenda

"During the negotiations in the Kazakh capital, new trade, economic and investment agreements are expected," Seilekhanov said.

According to German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit, the talks will focus on cooperation in the fields of science, economics, energy, communications and raw materials.

With Kazakhstan producing 19 of the 34 materials that are critical to the European Union's economy, discussions on the supply of critical materials are likely to be discussed. New projects in agriculture, chemistry, mechanical engineering are also expected.

Seilekhanov noted that the prospects of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, a key communication project connecting West-East, will be a constant topic in Kazakhstan's discussions with European partners, including Germany.

Politically, the visit is likely to include discussions of domestic issues in both countries, amid democratic reforms in Kazakhstan and the post-election situation in Germany.

Seilekhanov emphasized that the talks may also concern efforts to speed up the peace process in Ukraine and the Middle East, and Kazakhstan and Germany will explore the possibilities of mediation. Both countries' positions on the upcoming UN Future Summit scheduled for later this month are also likely to be discussed.

Kazakhstan is very interested in Germany's environmental initiatives, climate protection and sustainable development. In 2007, Berlin launched the Water Initiative for Central Asia to improve water management in the region. This has since evolved into the Green Central Asia initiative, launched in 2019, which promotes cooperation between five Central Asian states on environmental and sustainable development issues with the support of Germany.

Strengthening of regional partnership

Astana will be the first capital of Central Asia to host a summit of this format, emphasizing the leading role of Kazakhstan in regional cooperation with external partners.

"For Germany and the EU, Central Asia is seen as a single 'organism' rich in raw materials, human potential, transit and transport opportunities, as well as a growing economic market with attractive trade offers," Seilekhanov said.

He noted that a sign of this strategic interest is the increase in contacts between Germany, Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries.

In 2023, there was an exchange of high-level visits between Kazakhstan and Germany. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic in June, while the Kazakh leader visited Germany twice — in September for the first Central Asia + Germany meeting in Berlin and in November for an official visit. In the same year, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited Germany twice, and Chancellor Scholz will visit Tashkent on September 15 and then arrive in Astana. The heads of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan also participated in last year's Berlin summit.

"Chancellor Scholz's upcoming visit to Astana will give new impetus to Kazakh-German relations and raise cooperation between Central Asia and Germany to a new level," Seilekhanov said.