Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s recent mid-January visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to attend the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) Summit, underscores the strategic importance both nations place on their bilateral ties. ADSW is a prominent global platform dedicated to accelerating sustainable development and promoting international cooperation on the global environmental agenda. The 2025 summit — with the theme, “Nexus of Next: Supercharging Sustainable Progress” — was designed specifically to explore advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, renewable energy, and innovative sustainability solutions.
As leader of the most dynamic of the Central Asian economies, President Tokayev’s presence signaled his country’s ambition to play a more prominent role in addressing environmental challenges at an international level. In his keynote speech, Tokayev addressed environmental issues that are particularly critical for Kazakhstan, including desertification, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and food security. He emphasized his country’s multifaceted approach to these challenges, which includes digital technologies, large-scale infrastructure projects, and the development of nuclear energy as a low-carbon solution.
Kazakhstan has recently launched initiatives, such as expanding solar and wind farms and implementing advanced irrigation systems to combat desertification. Tokayev also highlighted Kazakhstan’s commitment to meeting its renewable energy targets, aiming to generate 15% of its electricity from renewables by 2030, in partnership with global leaders in green technology.
Overall, the ADSW Summit provided a platform for Kazakhstan to engage with international partners, share its vision for sustainable development, and explore collaborative opportunities to address global environmental challenges. Kazakhstan’s efforts include the development of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which will have a capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030, and participation in the Space-D programme, which enhances operational performance through nano-satellites.
In particular, President Tokayev met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss bilateral relations. The two leaders agreed to focus on a specific economic agenda — focused on trade, investment, and sustainable development — to create positive bilateral trade dynamics. Their Joint Declaration on Strategic Investment Projects in these fields was also highlighted.
Kazakhstan and the UAE have developed a dynamic and multifaceted partnership over the past three decades. Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1993, the UAE has become Kazakhstan’s leading strategic partner in the Arab world. Early cooperation focused on trade and investment but has since expanded to include sectors such as petrochemicals, energy, transport, logistics, agriculture, and aerospace. Key milestones include the establishment of direct flight routes between the two countries and the signing of long-term investment agreements in the mid-2000s.
Tokayev noted that direct investment from the UAE into Kazakhstan more than doubled from 2023 to 2024, placing the country among the top ten largest foreign investors in Kazakhstan. A focal point of their discussion was the goal of increasing bilateral trade turnover to $1 billion. In this context, the Dubai International Chamber has established a representative office in Kazakhstan to boost trade and investment opportunities further still.
For several years, the UAE has been expanding its cooperation with the Greater Caspian Sea region, including Azerbaijan as well as Central Asia. The UAE’s renewable-energy company Masdar has established or will establish renewable energy projects — mainly wind energy — in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. It is foreseen that much of the generated electricity may be exported to Europe via subsea cables across the bottom of the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
Likewise, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is cooperating in the petrochemical sector in Azerbaijan’s offshore as well as in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. This cooperation includes the construction of value-added industries that will enable these countries to export refined petrochemical products.
The growing relationship between Kazakhstan and the UAE is thus representative of a broader strategic geoeconomic alignment. Kazakhstan’s vast natural resources and strategic location in Central Asia, in particular, offer the UAE significant opportunities. The UAE is a global hub for trade and innovation, and it benefits from being a “third party” that offers another vector of partnership to countries concerned about Chinese and Russian geoeconomic and strategic influence in the region.
The UAE’s bilateral agreement with Kazakhstan on investment cooperation in data centers and artificial-intelligence projects in Kazakhstan will assist in the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, also called the “Middle Corridor“) that will help to create new export markets for Central Asia. The strengthening of ties between Kazakhstan and the UAE provides potentially all Central Asian countries with increased access to global markets through the UAE’s advanced logistics networks. It likewise offers a model for other Central Asian nations seeking to diversify their international relationships.
The expanding relationship between Kazakhstan and the UAE highlights the emergence of a broad geoeconomic “meta-region” that will stretch from the Arabian Peninsula through the South Caucasus and across the Caspian Sea into Central Asia. If the present regime in Tehran collapses, then Iran (and possibly Iraq) could be included in this restructured economic space. Such a development would contribute to global geopolitical stability over the next two decades, which will be increasingly turbulent.
Kazakhstan’s role as a resource-rich, strategically positioned state complements the UAE’s capabilities as a global logistics and innovation hub. This partnership demonstrates how targeted investments in energy, technology, and infrastructure can create mutual benefits while reshaping regional dynamics. The UAE’s diversification strategy aligns seamlessly with Kazakhstan’s ambitions to enhance its international connectivity and reduce economic dependencies on traditional partners. Kazakhstan will not be the only country in the Greater Caspian Sea region to undergo such a reorientation with the addition of a geoeconomic “vector” to the Arabian Peninsula.
