Kazakh-German cooperation discussed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan

NUR-SULTAN, September 29, 2020, - Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi received the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Tilo Klinner.

The parties exchanged views on topical issues of interaction within the OSCE and the UN and discussed issues of bilateral political and investment cooperation. In particular, the sides noted the important role of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Kazakh-German Business Council for Strategic Cooperation and the Berlin Eurasian Club in this process.

During the conversation, special attention was paid to cooperation in the humanities field, expansion of the German language study in the system of secondary education and through a network of the German language centers. The sides stressed the great importance of the “human bridge” between the two countries, represented by the German community in Kazakhstan with nearly 200,000 members and nearly 900,000 “Kazakh” Germans in Germany.

Today, Germany is one of the largest trading partners and investors in Kazakhstan. At the end of 2019, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Germany amounted to USD 1.8 billion. Over the past 15 years, the inflow of direct investments from Germany to Kazakhstan amounted to about $5 billion. About 90% of German investments in Kazakhstan are in the “non-primary sector”, including the support and development of SMEs.

More than 960 enterprises with the participation of German capital operate in Kazakhstan. Among them are representatives of such major companies as SIEMENS, METRO, KNAUF, Heidelberg Cement, BASF, Linde AG, CLAAS, WILO and others.