Portugal-Kazakhstan international cooperation: combining common interests

Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Portugal Gil Fernando Tainia Vieira arrived in Uralsk on a working visit. The regional akimat hosted a working meeting of the consul with the governor of the region Gali Iskaliyev, where they discussed opportunities for establishing and deepening cooperation between the two countries in the trade, economic and investment sectors.

The meeting was also attended by First Deputy Akim of the region Mukhtar Mankeev, Kazakhstan partner for Kazakh-Portuguese projects Erlan Muratov, Mayor of Uralsk Abat Shynybekov, heads of JSC " NC "Kazakh Invest" for the West Kazakhstan region, JSC " SEC "AQJAIYQ", regional departments of passenger transport and highways, energy and housing, entrepreneurship and industrial and innovative development.

During the meeting, Zh.Vieira shared his plans for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation with Kazakhstan, noting that there are already some points of contact with other regions of the country, which will be developed further.

"Now I travel around the regions of Kazakhstan in order to establish bilateral relations between our countries in the economy, politics, trade, cultural, scientific, educational and tourism spheres, strengthening relations between our peoples. Portugal actively cooperates with various countries in Europe, Africa, Angola, and the Republic of Mozambique, and is gradually entering the Central Asian market. Kazakhstan is attractive for Portugal in terms of cooperation in the agricultural sector, digital technologies, healthcare and others. The purpose of my visit is for familiarization, now we are looking at various options for cooperation both in commercial projects and in terms of public-private partnership, " the consul said.

During the meeting, the expansion of trade, economic and investment cooperation between the West Kazakhstan region and Portugal was discussed. Promising areas of bilateral economic cooperation are: energy (including alternative energy), electronics, agriculture, food industry, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure construction and light industry. The prospects for joint work in the agricultural sector were highlighted, as this area is a leading one for businessman Gilles Fernando Tainia Vieira, who is the owner and CEO of Andregial, Resumesferico, Diside Group.

"Portugal is a relatively new market for us, and so are we for them. We can offer investors a platform for business development in the region. We have the opportunity to support investors with land and infrastructure, providing them with a guarantee of state participation in investment projects, " Governor of the region G. Iskaliyev said at the meeting.

The Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Portugal noted the attractiveness of Kazakhstan in terms of investment, but since this is a rather long process, it is necessary to carefully study the promising opportunities of each region of the country in order to make decisions and develop new investment projects. At the moment, the West Kazakhstan region has the potential for further cooperation in the agro-industrial sector, infrastructure modernization, construction of hospitals and other buildings, and the development of digital technologies.

In general, the main items of Kazakhstan's exports to Portugal are: oil, cotton, ferrous metals. Imports from Portugal to Kazakhstan include: cork wood, equipment, electric machines, water vehicles, pharmaceutical products.

Honorary Consulate – an institution headed by an Honorary (freelance) consul who, without being in the public service of the sending State, performs certain consular functions free of charge on his behalf and with the consent of the receiving State, including the protection of the rights and interests of the sending State and its citizens, but excluding the issuance of visas and other official documents.

Zhanna Balykova,

zhaikpress.kz