The Republic of Latvia is an important trade and economic partner of Kazakhstan in the Baltic region.
According to the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Latvia in 2022 totalled $216.2 million. US.
In January-July 2023, trade turnover totalled 224.2 million US dollars, which is 92.5% higher than in the same period of 2022 (116.5 million US dollars).
The main export commodities from Kazakhstan to Latvia in 2023: copper and copper cathodes - 58.6 million US dollars (30.3% share), coal - 58.1 million US dollars (30%), wastes produced by the extraction of other vegetable oils was 18.8 million US dollars (9.7%), wheat - 14.7 million US dollars (7.6%) and others - 33.6 million US dollars. The main goods imported to Kazakhstan from Latvia were: telephone sets - 5.4 million US dollars (17.6 %), medicines packaged for retail sale - 5.3 million US dollars (17.4 %), parts of rolling stock - 4.6 million US dollars (15.1%), bearings - 1.8 million US dollars (6.1%) and others - 3.2 million US dollars.
According to the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in 2022 the total volume of cargo transportation between Kazakhstan and Latvia by rail was 3 million 683 thousand tonnes, which is 5.8 times higher than the same indicator in 2021. From Kazakhstan to Latvia, 3.7 million tonnes of cargo were transported in 2022 (8.5 times growth). From Latvia to Kazakhstan - 196.2 thousand tonnes (3 times growth).
According to JSC "NC "Казақстан темір жолы", for 7 months of 2023 the dynamics of cargo transportation with the participation of railways of Kazakhstan and Latvia amounted to 1 million 713 thousand tonnes.
Active cooperation is carried out in the field of international road transport. Each year the parties exchange 10 thousand permits.
About 120 Latvian enterprises, including joint ventures, are registered in Kazakhstan. About 100 Kazakh companies operate in Latvia. The companies are engaged in such spheres as logistics, trade and financial counselling.
According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, investments from Latvia to Kazakhstan in 2022 totalled USD 52.5 million (+ 54%). USD (+54%), to Latvia - USD 2.6 million (-43%). USD (-43%). In January-June 2023, from Latvia to Kazakhstan was invested $ 36.4 million. In January-June 2023 from Latvia to Kazakhstan was invested 36.4 million USD, in Latvia - 0.6 million USD. US DOLLARS.
Important mechanisms of economic interaction are the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation (IGC) (8th meeting held on 3 November 2021 in online format); the Joint Commission on International Road Transport (4-5 April 2019 in Astana) and the Working Group on Transport (12 June 2023 in Riga).
In September 2022, a delegation of Latvian business took part in the International Exhibition "Transport and Logistics 2022" in Almaty. The delegation was headed by the Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport of Latvia U. Reimanis. Meetings were held with the leadership of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the fourth meeting of the bilateral working group on transport was held (Almaty, 20 September).
On 29 September 2022, a Kazakh-Latvian business seminar "Perspective spheres and new forms of economic cooperation" was held in Riga, which was attended by more than 50 representatives of government agencies and organisations, national companies, international seaports, industry associations and unions, and business circles. The event was organised with the support of NC Kazakh Invest JSC and the Astana International Financial Centre.
On 1-2 February 2023, a Kazakh delegation led by the Director General of the Union of Transport Workers of Kazakhstan "KAZLOGISTICS" E. Absatov visited Latvia. During the visit the prospects of strengthening and expanding bilateral cooperation in the transit-transport sphere, as well as the possibilities for Latvian carriers to use the international transport corridor "Europe-Caucasus-Asia" (TRACECA) were discussed.
On 18-19 May 2023, the Latvian delegation headed by the Minister of Transport J. Vitenbergs and comprising the heads of Latvian railways and ports took part in the II EU-Central Asia Economic Forum in Almaty. Meetings were held with the Ministers of National Economy, Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
On 8-9 June 2023, the Latvian delegation headed by K. Gerhards, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Co-Chairman of the Kazakh-Latvian IGC, took part in the Astana International Forum. On the margins of the Forum bilateral meetings were held with the leadership of a number of ministries and departments of Kazakhstan, representatives of business. The Latvian delegation visited Karaganda and Pavlodar regions.
On 12-13 June 2023, a regional business forum was held in Latvia with the participation of representatives of the transport industry and business circles from Central Asian countries. This event was a practical implementation of the agreements reached during the visit in February 2023 of the Union of Transport Workers of Kazakhstan "KAZLOGISTICS", PS IGC "TRACECA". Union of Transport Workers of Kazakhstan "KAZLOGISTICS", PS IGC "TRACECA" and a representative of USAID Trade Programme in Central Asia. The Kazakh delegation was headed by the Vice-Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development A. Idyrysov, who also took part in the fifth meeting of the Kazakhstan-Latvia Working Group on Transport. Following the results of the meeting of the Working Group, the relevant Protocol was adopted. An important outcome of the meeting was the agreement on the allocation of additional permits for international road transport of 18 thousand by both parties.
On September 11-14, 2023, a visit of the Latvian business delegation to Astana took place. The delegation included heads of the largest Latvian industry associations and associations, seaports, leading transport, logistics and IT companies, and pharmaceutical industry enterprises. The central event of the visit was the round table “Kazakhstan-Latvia: new prospects for cooperation”, which took place at the Astana International Financial Center. A series of bilateral meetings took place in B2B format. Among the specific agreements reached during the visit, one can note the signing in the near future between the AIFC and the Latvian Stevedoring Association, as well as the Latvian Automobile Association “Latvijas auto” of memorandums of cooperation on registering Latvian companies in the AIFC and on mutual understanding on the creation of new supply chains, exchange of experience in introducing new technologies in the field of logistics.
On October 4-6, 2023, in Astana, a Latvian delegation consisting of more than 50 representatives of the transit transport industry, led by the Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport of Latvia U. Reimanis (co-chairman from the Latvian side of the Kazakh-Latvian Working Group on Transport) took part in the 26th th International Exhibition “TransLogistica Kazakhstan 2023”.
On the sidelines of the event, a bilateral meeting between U. Reimanis and the Minister of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan M. Karabaev took place, during which the parties discussed current issues of bilateral cooperation, as well as further steps to more effectively solve joint problems in the field of logistics, exchange of information on sanctions regulation and supervision. We discussed the signing of the Air Services Agreement and the organization of the visit of the Kazakh transport delegation to Latvia this year.