QNA
Doha
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Integration of Republic of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin said that his country attaches great importance to the visit of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to Astana and his participation in the Astana International Forum.
In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), he added that HH the Amir was one of the first leaders to confirm his presence in this international forum, adding that there was keenness on Qatar’s participation in the forum, taking into account its prominent role in achieving political calmness and security in the region.
He explained that the forum in its new form includes four main direction: foreign policy and global security, sustainable development, energy and climate change, and economy and finance, noting the participation of a significant number of state leaders, prime ministers, heads of international organizations and high-level economic, trade and political delegations from around the world, including economic delegations from the State of Qatar.
He pointed out that the distinguished relations between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Kazakhstan are reflected in the increasing number of meetings and discussions at the highest levels, as HE the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited Doha in June 2022 to participate in the Qatar Economic Forum, while HH the Amir paid a state visit to Kazakhstan in October 2022.
Hestated that the deep cooperation between the two countries is also highlighted by the Joint Higher Committee, which was established in 2000, and has held five sessions since then, the last of which was in Feb. 2020 in Astana.
He revealed that the 6th Joint Higher Committee meeting will be held in September of this year in Doha where plans will be made to expand the scope of trade, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian cooperation between the two countries.
His Excellency said that the Kazakh side has many proposals to increase trade with Qatar, and there is a committee in the Ministry of Trade established to study possible opportunities between the two countries to increase the volume of trade exchange.
He explained that the Kazakh-Qatari cooperation includes several areas, such as trade economy, investment, agriculture and finance, in addition to cultural and humanitarian cooperation.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Integration of Republic of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin explained that in the field of cultural and humanitarian cooperation, Qatar began the process of building a maternity hospital in the village of Otegen Batyr in Almaty. In the field of agriculture, Qatari companies are working successfully in the sector, exporting products to a number of countries in the world.
He stated that Qatar International Islamic Bank had listen Islamic sukuk in the Astana International Exchange of the Astana International Financial Centre, and in the past year, a MOU was signed between the Astana International Exchange and the Qatar Stock Exchange.
He talked about the state visit made by HH the Amir to Kazakhstan on October 12, 2022, where a MOU was signed between the Ministry of Trade and Integration in Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The MOU stipulates the intentions of the two countries to provide mutual assistance to develop and enhance cooperation in the trade field, in addition to strengthening and promoting the export of non-primary goods and services, improving the trade infrastructure, developing stock markets and e-commerce, promoting dialogue between the public and private sectors, and enhancing cooperation between businessmen and companies in the two countries.
He stressed that in the commercial field, there are great opportunities to enhance cooperation with the State of Qatar, as there are a large number of Kazakh companies producing meat products, as well as other foodstuffs and are interested in exporting products to the Qatari market.
He added that his country sees broad prospects for increasing Kazakh exports to Qatar, as there are 60 types of Kazakh products worth USD 243 million, which include the following sectors: minerals (USD 125.9 million), food industry (USD 68.3 million) and mechanical engineering (USD 19.3 million), transportation and communications (USD 16.1 million), the chemical industry (USD 9 million), and building materials (USD 4.8 million).
The Kazakh official revealed that the volume of trade exchange increased during the period from January to April 2023 by 14.2 times, amounting to USD 1.9 million, compared to only USD 0.1 million dollars in the same period in 2021.
He revealed an increase in the volume of Kazakh exports to Qatar in the period from January to April 2023, by 2.1 times, while Qatari exports to Kazakhstan increased by 625.7 times during the same period.
