Trade and Economy Focus of Kazakhstan Deputy PM Roman Sklyar’s Working Visit to Dortmund
DORTMUND, 20 January 2020 – A delegation from Kazakhstan, headed by the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar, has paid a working visit to the federal state of North Rhein-Westfalia to hold talks with heads of large German enterprises interested in establishing trade, economic and investment cooperation with the Land of the Great Steppe.
During the Deputy PM’s visit, the Wilo company hosted a round table discussion in Dortmund under the theme “Kazakhstan and Germany: Expansion of Economic Cooperation”, which was jointly organized by the Embassy of Kazakhstan to Germany together with Wilo and with support from the German Eastern Business Association and the Dortmund Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The round table discussion was attended by chief executives from some of Germany’s largest enterprises operating in North Rhein-Westfalia’s high-tech sector, including SMS Group GmbH (metallurgy), OTTO FUCHS KG (production of parts for automobiles and airplanes), Dillinger Hüttenwerke AG (raw materials’ processing), Weidmüller Interface GmbH & Co. KG (electronics), Amazonen-Werke H. Dreyer GmbH & Co. KG (production of farming equipment), Düchting Pumpen Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG (production of pumping equipment), Aurubis AG (processing of raw materials), COMPO GmbH (agrochemicals), among others.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Deputy PM Sklyar, who also heads the Governmental Working Group on Strategic Economic Partnership with Germany, declared: “Our goal is to interact with German investors, to support projects with German capital, and to contribute to their speedy and qualitative implementation by providing a wide range of government support measures. We hope to reach serious results very shortly”.
During the ensuing round table discussions, participants received insight into the special preferences being offered to German businesses, which had been announced during the December 2019 visit to Berlin of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, including vis-à-vis tax exemption in special economic zones and provision of infrastructure. Discussions also focused on the prospects of increased Kazakh-German bilateral cooperation in the fields of engineering, agriculture, transport, logistics and high technology. Speaking at the event, Dortmund Mayor Ullrich Sierau noted the need to develop closer cooperation between the regions of Kazakhstan and the federal states of Germany.
Also on this day, Deputy PM Sklyar held bilateral meetings with heads of companies such as Siemens AG, Tönnies Holding ApS & Co. KG, Aurubis AG, Schuler AG, OTTO FUCHS KG, and others, to discuss specific proposals for the implementation of joint projects and the creation of production facilities for the high-tech industry.
The Kazakh delegation also given a tour of the ultra-modern Wilo Smart Factory production complex by the company’s CEO Oliver Hermes, who presented the company’s new production and logistics concept. The Smart Factory incorporates advanced robotics and automation, as well as an optimally configured material flow and corresponding production site layout.
Germany is one of Kazakhstan’s key trading partners in the European Union: according to Kazakh statistics, in 2018 bilateral trade between our countries amounted to $2,1 billion – an increase of 10.8%, compared to 2017 figures.
Last year, the volume of FDIs from Germany to Kazakhstan, where almost 900 German and joint ventures are now operating, amounted to more than $ 400 million, and total investments exceeded $ 5.2 billion. About 90% of German investments in Kazakhstan are directed into the non-oil and gas sector.