Меню
Kazakhstan-Belgium relations
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Diplomatic relations were established on 25 August 1992.
The Embassy of Kazakhstan in Belgium was opened on 15 April 1993.
The Embassy of Belgium in Kazakhstan was opened in January 2006.
On 5 July 2025, R. Vasilenko was appointed Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Belgium (he presented his credentials to the King on 3 September 2025).
On 28 August 2025, Belgian Ambassador to Kazakhstan E. de Meyer presented his credentials to President K. Tokayev.
There is one Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan in Belgium: Anna Susarova in Walloon Brabant.
Political Dialogue
President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev paid nine official and working visits to Belgium: in 1993, 2000, 2002, 2006, twice in 2010, and in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
President of Kazakhstan K. Tokayev paid one official visit to Belgium on 25–26 November 2021. It was the first visit of the Head of State to Europe after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as his first visit to Belgium as President of Kazakhstan. The Head of State held talks with King Philippe of Belgium and Prime Minister A. De Croo.
King Philippe of Belgium visited Kazakhstan three times as Crown Prince: in 2002, 2009 and 2010.
On 7–8 April 2025, Chairwoman of the Constitutional Court of Kazakhstan E. Azimova paid her first official visit to Brussels. She held meetings with President of the Constitutional Court of Belgium L. Lavrysen, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Belgian House of Representatives E. Van Hoof, and the chairs of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, Committee on Legal Affairs, and Delegation for relations with the countries of Central Asia and Mongolia.
Contacts at the Level of Foreign Ministers
On 27 March 2006, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, Karel De Gucht, visited Kazakhstan. This was the first visit of a Belgian foreign minister to Kazakhstan. K. De Gucht held talks with President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev and Foreign Minister K. Tokayev, as well as with representatives of political parties and NGOs in Almaty.
On 19 January 2022, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan M. Tileuberdi paid a working visit to Brussels. He held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium Sophie Wilmès, Chief Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of the European Council S. Mordue, EU Special Representative for Human Rights E. Gilmore, EEAS Secretary-General S. Sannino, EU Special Representative for Central Asia T. Hakala, and Chairman of the Board of KBC Group Johan Thijs.
Inter-MFA consultations were held on 17 October 2022 in Astana and on 18 October 2024 in Brussels, as the fourth and fifth rounds respectively. The consultations were co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs R. Vassilenko and Director General of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs J. Coreman.
On 11 March 2026, the sixth round of inter-MFA consultations was held in Astana. The consultations were co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan A. Issetov and Director General of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs B. Stevens.
Interparliamentary Cooperation
On 16–21 May 2023, the first official visit of a delegation of members of the Belgian Federal Parliament to Kazakhstan took place. The delegation was headed by Tim Vandenput, member of parliament and Chair of the Friendship Group with the countries of Central Asia in the Belgian Parliament. The Belgian MPs visited Astana, Almaty and Aktau, and met with Chairman of the Senate M. Ashimbayev, Deputy Chair of the Mazhilis A. Rau, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs R. Vassilenko, representatives of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry and the Astana International Financial Centre, as well as Akim of Almaty E. Dossayev, the leadership of Narxoz University and the Port of Aktau.
On 13 November 2023, a delegation of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, headed by Chair of the Committee on International Affairs, Defence and Security A. Kuspan, paid a working visit to Brussels. The Kazakh delegation met with President of the Senate of the Belgian Federal Parliament Stéphanie D’Hose and members of the Friendship Group with the countries of Central Asia in the Belgian Parliament, headed by MP T. Vandenput.
On 2–6 September 2025, an official visit of a delegation of Belgian senators headed by Chair of the Friendship Group with the countries of Central Asia in the Belgian Parliament, Senator Stéphanie D’Hose, took place. The Belgian senators visited Astana and Almaty, and met with Deputy Chair of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan O. Perepechina, Chair of the Committee on International Affairs, Defence and Security of the Mazhilis A. Kuspan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs A. Issetov, the leadership of M. Narikbayev University and Narxoz University, and also visited the AIFC and Astana Hub and familiarized themselves with the activities of the Government for Citizens under the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan.
On 18–20 November 2025, a delegation of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, headed by Chair of the Committee on International Affairs, Defence and Security A. Kuspan, paid a working visit to Brussels. The Kazakh delegation met with Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Belgian Federal Parliament P. De Roover. The parties discussed the current state and prospects of inter-parliamentary cooperation, as well as the schedule of events for 2026. The original invitation to visit Kazakhstan was handed over to P. De Roover.
Trade and Economic Cooperation
Trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Belgium in 2025 amounted to USD 582.4 million, an increase of 28%, including exports of USD 311.5 million and imports of USD 270.9 million. In the first quarter of 2026, trade turnover amounted to USD 117.8 million.
In 2024, trade turnover amounted to USD 456 million, including exports of USD 210 million and imports of USD 246 million, which was 12.89% lower than in 2023, when trade turnover stood at USD 523.5 million, including exports of USD 220.6 million and imports of USD 302.9 million, and 11.44% lower than in 2022, when it stood at USD 514.9 million.
Kazakhstan’s main exports to Belgium include flax seeds, titanium and titanium products, chromium oxides and hydroxides, ores and concentrates, coal, ethyl alcohol, other ferrous metal products, ferrous metal structures, and waste obtained from the extraction of other vegetable oils.
Kazakhstan’s main imports from Belgium include medicines packaged for retail sale, petroleum products, vaccines, blood sera, blood, tractors and truck tractors, centrifuges, equipment and devices for filtering liquids or gases, mastics, fillers, lubricants, air pumps, agricultural machinery and electric transformers.
Gross inflows of foreign direct investment from Belgium to Kazakhstan amounted to USD 1.045 billion in 2025, USD 1.206 billion in 2024 and USD 1.006 billion in 2023. From 2005 to 2025, the total volume of investments amounted to USD 14.5 billion.
There are 76 enterprises with Belgian capital operating in Kazakhstan. The largest include Jan De Nul and Sarens Group in infrastructure, Ahlers in logistics, and Puratos in water treatment.
On 17 May 2023, the Kazakhstan-Belgium Business Council was established. The agreement was signed between the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan and the BeNeLux Chamber of Commerce. The second meeting of the Business Council was held in Almaty on 29 May 2024 with the participation of more than 30 Kazakh and Belgian companies. The third meeting was held on 4 June 2025 in Brussels with the participation of more than 50 representatives of Kazakh companies, including Astana NAN, Artex and Batys Wood Works, as well as Belgian companies.
In order to assist the competent authorities of Kazakhstan in releasing Kazakh assets frozen in Belgian banks as a result of sanctions against the Russian Federation, close contact has been established with the Treasury Administration of the Belgian Ministry of Finance.
In 2025, agreements were reached on releasing EUR 605.05 million of the Eurasian Development Bank’s funds out of EUR 733 million, including EUR 1 million to assist those affected by floods in Kazakhstan, EUR 17.6 million for the implementation of a Kazakhmys project, EUR 100 million for road construction by KazAvtoZhol, and USD 100 million as the first tranche for the construction of the Karaganda CHPP, as well as USD 97 million and EUR 20.95 million as the second tranche.
Cultural and Humanitarian Cooperation
On 16 March 2012, an agreement on twinning relations between the akimat of Semey and the city council of Ypres in the Kingdom of Belgium was signed in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan.
To mark the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence in 2021, the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Brussels held a series of cultural events. In particular, with the assistance of the Ministry of Culture of Kazakhstan and the Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory, a dombyra, a kobyz and a sybyzgy were donated to the Brussels Museum of Musical Instruments (29 June); on the initiative of the Kazakh Cultural Centre ‘Til-Qazyna’ at the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan in Brussels, one of the main symbols of the Belgian capital, the famous statue-fountain ‘Manneken Pis’, was dressed in a national costume, a Kazakh shapan and headdress (3 July).
On 10 August 2021, on the occasion of Abai Day, a collection of Abai Kunanbayev's ‘Words of Edification’ in French was donated to the Royal Library, the largest library in Belgium.
On 13 March 2024, with the support of the Embassy, the Qazaq Society, an association of Kazakh students in Belgium and Luxembourg, was established.
On 27 May 2024, negotiations were held in Brussels between the rector of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, E. Abil, and the Royal Institute for International Relations (Egmont), the Brussels Diplomatic Academy of the Free University of Brussels (BDA/VUB) and the Brussels Diplomatic School (CERIS).
The parties confirmed their readiness to implement joint programmes and research projects in the field of international relations.
On 23 April 2024, negotiations were held between the Kazakh international development agency KazAID and the Belgian development agency Enabel via videoconference. They discussed promising areas of bilateral cooperation in the field of ODA. However, in August this year, KazAID sent an official letter stating that it was not currently interested in cooperating with Enabel.
Multilateral cooperation
In 2021, Kazakhstan and Belgium exchanged mutual support in the following international organizations: Belgium supported Kazakhstan’s election to the UN Economic and Social Council for 2022–2024; Kazakhstan supported Belgium’s election to the Council of the International Maritime Organization for 2022–2023; in return, Belgium supported the candidacy of Kazakhstan’s representative R. Nurshabekov to the Radio Regulations Board of the International Telecommunication Union for 2023–2026.
Legal and consular issues
On 7 October 2024 in Brussels, Kazakhstan and the Benelux countries signed a Protocol amending the 2015 intergovernmental Agreement between Kazakhstan and the Benelux countries on exemption from visa requirements for holders of service passports.
As of 18 May 2026, the domestic procedures required for the Protocol to enter into force had been completed in Kazakhstan and the Netherlands. Completion of the procedures in Belgium and Luxembourg is expected in the near future.