On June 11, Chairman of the Board of Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunayGas (KMG), Askhat Khasenov attended a meeting in Astana with Adviser to the President of the Republic of Congo for strategic issues and international negotiations, Francoise Joly, and General Director of Congo’s national petroleum company SNPC (Societe nationale des petroles du Congo), Maixent Raoul Ominga.
The Congolese officials opened discussions by stating that after Nigeria and Angola, their country is Africa’s third largest player in the oil and gas sector. It was stated that whilst SNPC actively cooperates with international companies (Total Energies, Chevron, Eni), the company seeks to attract new investments to maximize the potential of its energy projects.
The parties exchanged views on potential cooperation in the oil and gas sector, including trade in oil and petroleum products and human capital development, and agreed to work towards the signing of a cooperation agreement between KMG and SNPC.
On 10 June, in preparation for the state visit of the President of the Republic of Congo, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev received Ms. Joly.
In addition to identifying promising areas of bilateral cooperation, Tokayev expressed his readiness to strengthen contacts with the Republic of Congo.