Tokayev: “Kazakhstan and Russia should not compete with each other in the EAEU market“
Welcoming the participants, the President of Kazakhstan noted that over two decades the forum has become an effective platform where the tone for strengthening the strategic partnership between our countries is set.
"Cooperation in the trade, economic and investment spheres, industrial cooperation demonstrates stable growth dynamics. Indeed, trade turnover is growing. Last year it reached an impressive 27 billion dollars. At the same time, Russia accounts for almost 20% of Kazakhstan's foreign trade. The total volume of direct Russian investments approached 25 billion dollars. The annual inflow of investments has grown significantly, having doubled by the end of last year up to 3 billion dollars. In Kazakhstan, 23 thousand Russian and joint companies are successfully operating, which is almost half of all our enterprises with foreign participation," said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
In his speech, the Head of our state dwelled in detail on key issues of inter-industry cooperation between the two countries. In his opinion, cooperation in the fuel and energy sector between Kazakhstan and Russia has reached a qualitatively new level.
"Together with Lukoil, we have begun developing the large offshore field Kalamkas-sea and Khazar. The investment volume in the project will amount to more than $6 billion. In addition, Russian partners are actively involved in the implementation of projects in the petrochemical industry. Together with Sibur, in 2022, we commissioned the largest polypropylene production plant in Central Asia with a capacity of 500 thousand tons per year. Today, this enterprise not only provides raw materials to Kazakhstani processors, but also exports products to Russia, China, Turkey and other countries. In September of this year, the construction of a polyethylene plant with a capacity of 1.2 million tons per year began. Together with Tatneft, a project is being implemented to produce butadiene with a capacity of 340 thousand tons per year. Significant success has also been achieved in the gas industry. For the first time, Russian gas transit to Uzbekistan through Kazakhstan has been launched. An agreement has been signed with Gazprom on the transit of Russian gas to Kyrgyzstan. Long-term supplies of Russian gas to Kazakhstan are being worked out,” the President noted.
He reported that a year ago an Intergovernmental agreement was signed to ensure parallel operation of power systems of Kazakhstan and Russia, the implementation of which will strengthen the foundation of the partnership between the parties in the energy sector.
"Practical cooperation was established to construct thermal power stations in cities of Kokshetau, Semey and Ust-Kamenogorsk. Our partnership in the field of renewable energy sources develops quite actively as well. With the participation of Russian partners, projects with a total capacity of 370MW have already been realized in Kazakhstan. Under the agreements reached, an additional one gigawatt of clean energy is set to be generated in the near future,” the Head of State noted.
According to him, this year marks five years since the start of the implementation of the Program of joint action in the field of industrial cooperation. Within the framework of the program, 93 joint projects were implemented with a total investment of almost 18.5 billion dollars, which allowed the creation of more than 22 thousand jobs.
"This year, with the participation of Tatneft, a tire manufacturing plant with a design capacity of 3.5 million units per year was launched in the city of Saran. In cooperation with the KAMAZ company, the localization of machine-building equipment production is deepening. In October of this year, a large-scale project for the production of cast iron with a capacity of up to 40 thousand tons per year was launched in Kostanay. Next year, a plant for the production of drive axle components is expected to open. Currently, 49 more projects are being implemented with a total investment of more than 29.5 billion dollars and the creation of about 20 thousand jobs. Thus, EuroChem and UralChem companies are implementing large-scale projects for the production of mineral fertilizers in the Zhambyl region," Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
As noted further, Kazakhstan and Russia have significant potential for expanding cooperation in the agricultural sector.
"This year, our farmers have harvested a record grain crop - almost 27 million tons. This is especially symbolic in the year of the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the development of Kazakhstan's virgin lands. In addition, we have begun implementing a number of large-scale projects aimed at reducing import dependence on key food products. In the coming years, 116 modern dairy farms will be built, which will increase milk production by 600 thousand tons. It is planned to commission 29 meat poultry farms with a total capacity of more than 220 thousand tons of meat per year, as well as 11 egg poultry farms that will be able to produce 850 million eggs per year. In the agro-industrial sector, our countries have truly colossal export potential. I am convinced that we should not compete with each other in the domestic market of the EAEU. This obviously harms integration. On the contrary, we can join forces to become a key food hub for the export of agricultural products to third-country markets," said the President of Kazakhstan.
Another priority task Kassym-Jomart Tokayev outlined was strengthening the transport and logistics framework throughout the Eurasian space. In his opinion, for Kazakhstan, as well as for Russia, this is of strategic importance. Our country intends to repair 11 thousand and build more than 5 thousand kilometers of new railways by 2030.
"An important priority for us is the creation of a network of modern multimodal centers and dry ports abroad. One of the successful examples of such cooperation was the construction of a new transport and logistics center at the Selyatino station in the Russian Federation. At the opposite end of the transit corridor, cargo will be collected at the recently built Kazakhstan terminal in the Chinese city of Xian. Thus, in fact, key support points of a single cargo transit system along the China-Kazakhstan-Russia route are being created," the Head of our state emphasized.
The President also touched upon the development of the tourism sector. He reported that Kazakhstan provides a visa-free regime for citizens of 86 countries and has direct flights to 31 countries. In addition, consistent measures are being taken to improve the transport accessibility of key resort areas.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev believes that joint efforts to expand trade and economic cooperation allow the parties to adapt to modern challenges and create a solid foundation for sustainable growth of the economies of the two countries.
"We need to maintain the high level of our multifaceted cooperation. It is important to continue working to simplify cross-border procedures and eliminate trade and logistics barriers in order to ensure favorable conditions for Kazakh and Russian businesses. I am confident that the solid package of agreements signed within the framework of the forum, as well as the specific initiatives expressed, will not only reveal the significant potential of interregional cooperation, but will also give a powerful impetus to the development of the economies of our countries," the Head of State summed up his speech.
The plenary session of the 20th Interregional Cooperation Forum was also attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Patrushev, and Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of Staff of the Government of Kazakhstan Galymzhan Koishybayev.