B. Sultanov held trade talks in New Delhi

The 14th meeting of the Kazakh-Indian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical, Industrial and Cultural Cooperation was held in New Delhi (India).

The co-chairman of the IPC from the Kazakh side is Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Bakhyt Sultanov, the Indian side was headed by Minister of Oil and Natural Gas and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs of the Republic of India Hardeep Singh Puri.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the current economic situation. It was noted that there is a significant potential for expanding bilateral trade and investment.

So, in particular, Kazakhstan and India agreed to exchange a list of goods to increase mutual export-import, and also voiced the need to deepen the relationship between the export agencies of the two countries to centralize information about buyers/ sellers.

One of the most promising branches of increasing trade is the agro-industrial complex. During the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, Kazakhstan and India agreed to continue work on simplification of procedures for bilateral trade in agricultural products. Thus, the parties agreed to move quarantined products between the countries, subject to compliance with phytosanitary requirements. This will contribute to the expansion of mutual supplies of agricultural products.

The Kazakh side also expressed readiness for cooperation to increase the supply of Indian sugar to the Kazakh market.

During the discussion of mutual investment opportunities, the delegation of the Republic of Kazakhstan invited Indian companies to consider investment opportunities in the field of deep processing of agricultural products. And also invited Indian investors to projects in the mining and metallurgical industry, energy (renewable energy sources), pharmaceutical production, mechanical engineering and agricultural technology, healthcare, electronics, tourism and resort, as well as ICT, IT industries.

The Indian side confirmed the interest of its companies in buying Kazakh oil under long-term contracts. At the same time, the intention of Indian oil and gas companies in exploring investment opportunities in the mining and/or developing assets of the Republic of Kazakhstan was confirmed.

In addition, an agreement was reached to continue cooperation between Ust-Kamenogorsk Titanium-Magnesium Combine JSC and the Indian company Midhani (a project for the production of titanium bioimplants), as well as the company IREL Limited (a project for the production of titanium slag in the Republic of India).

The parties also discussed issues of cooperation in the field of healthcare, education, finance, tourism, information technology, IT, etc.

The next meeting of the IPC will be held in Nur-Sultan.

A number of bilateral meetings of B.Sultanov with representatives of the government and business circles of the Republic of India were also held at the site of the Kazakh-Indian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical, Industrial and Cultural Cooperation.

Thus, during the conversation with the Minister of Trade and Industry of India Piyush Goyal, the topics of diversification and expansion of the range of goods supplied were discussed. As well as industrial cooperation at the sites of cross-border hubs created in the Republic of Kazakhstan for the subsequent export of manufactured products to the EAEU and CIS countries.

The agenda of negotiations with the leadership of the Indian conglomerate "Adani Group" included plans for the Indian company to invest in a number of sectors of the Kazakh economy. So, in particular, "Adani Group" is interested in the possibility of cooperation in the transport and logistics sector, the development of green economy and renewable energy sources, processing of agricultural products, IT industry, etc.

The Kazakh side confirmed the interest of Kazakhstan in attracting Indian investments and technologies in these areas, and also invited the Adani Group company to cooperate in the development of cross-border commercial and industrial hubs.

The delegation of Kazakhstan also held talks with representatives of the company New Power (an Indian company for the production of "green energy", one of the ten largest renewable energy companies in the world). The company offers the implementation of a number of projects in Kazakhstan on sustainable renewable energy, as well as the development of "green" hydrogen.

The parties noted the great role of KAZAKHINVEST in the development of investment cooperation and agreed to further develop bilateral partnership in these areas.

For reference:

The trade turnover between Kazakhstan and India in 2021 exceeded 2 billion US dollars, increasing by 7.4% to the level of 2020. Kazakhstan's exports amounted to 1.625 billion US dollars with an increase of 3.4% compared to 2020.

The main products of Kazakhstan 's exports to India are: crude oil, silver, hydrogen, inert gases, asbestos, ferroalloys, titanium and cadmium products.

The list of goods of the export potential of the Republic of Kazakhstan consists of 80 items of processed goods, with a total value of over 600 million US dollars.