During his visit to Qatar on February 14th, Kazakhstan’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took part in the Kazakhstan–Qatar Investment Roundtable in Doha.
Mr Tokayev invited Qatari companies to invest in the Kazakh economy and explore new business opportunities, mentioning that his government is ready to provide tax and customs preferences, project co-financing, partial guarantees and export support mechanisms, the president’s press office reported.
Mr Tokayev also suggested expanding the work of the Kazakhstan-Qatar Joint High-Level Commission and Business Council.
The Kazakh president said that during his meeting with the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, earlier in the day, he proposed to increase bilateral trade up to $500m as a first step. “We can offer the Qatari market high-quality goods such as machinery, iron, steel, and agricultural products. Our market also offers access to the Eurasian Economic Union market with a total GDP of $2.6tn. We have a common border with China as well, which gives good opportunities to make trade with this juggernaut using the Belt and Road project,” Tokayev said.
Today Kazakhstan and Qatar are more closely connected than ever before, due to a visa-free regime and several direct flights per week.
Mr Tokayev invited Qatari energy companies to cooperate with their Kazakh counterparts in geological exploration, petrochemicals, transportation, and oil and gas processing projects.
He emphasized that Kazakhstan’s renewable energy potential, estimated at one trillion kilowatt-hours, has attracted the attention of global players who have committed to projects with a capacity of 43 gigawatts. “We welcome Nebras Power’s intentions to implement a 350 megawatt hydroelectric power plant and Pearl Overseas’ plans to construct a 1.1 gigawatt combined-cycle plant in Kazakhstan,” he said.
The Kazakh president also encouraged Qatari companies to participate in the extraction and processing of critical raw materials such as cobalt and lithium.
In the agricultural sector, Kazakhstan can supply halal and organic agricultural products to the Qatari market, Tokayev said, adding that Kazakhstan is also interested in developing the production of meat, fruit, vegetable, grain, flour and other products with further direct supply to Qatar.
