Kazakhstan is the largest trading partner in Central Asia for the UK

Nur-Sultan, November 4, 2021 - The Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Bakhyt Sultanov met with the Minister of Foreign Trade of Great Britain Ranil Jayawarden.

The Republic of Kazakhstan considers the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as an important strategic trade and economic partner in the European space.

During the meeting, the state and prospects for the development of cooperation in the field of trade, as well as the expansion of bilateral and multifaceted cooperation between the countries were discussed.

Bakhyt Sultanov informed that the UK is one of the main trading partners of Kazakhstan in terms of trade turnover
(15th place).

According to the Minister, the UK is one of the 10 largest investors in Kazakhstan. For the period from 2005 to the 1st quarter of 2021, the gross inflow of direct investments to Kazakhstan exceeded $15 billion.

"The current trend has a positive trend to increase. In January-September 2021, the trade turnover increased and amounted to $890.1 million, which is 23.9% higher than in the same period of 2020," Bakhyt Sultanov said.

The Kazakh side has proposed a list of potential goods from 90 product names totaling $707.1 million, which can contribute to an increase in bilateral trade.

In addition, Bakhyt Sultanov suggested that the British side conduct mutual trade missions to familiarize consumers with products of Kazakh and British production and establish B2B contacts.

At the same time, the Minister of Trade of Kazakhstan expressed interest as the Chairman of the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference in achieving significant multilateral results.

The parties expressed the opinion that WTO member countries can demonstrate the political will to ensure meaningful results at the MC-12 on priority issues that are important for strengthening the multilateral trading system.

Moreover, the parties noted the importance of strengthening the certification system and internationalization of standards in the field of organic products for bilateral trade.

 

Press service of the MTI RK