As part of his visit to London, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yermek Kosherbayev held talks with the UK’s Acting Minister of State for Business and Trade and Co-Chair of the UK-Kazakhstan Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, Chris Bryant, El.kz cites Kazakh Foreign Ministry.
“As Co-Chair of the Kazakhstan-UK Intergovernmental Commission, you play an important role in advancing our multifaceted partnership. We believe that through this mechanism we will be able to achieve further practical outcomes. By expanding innovative partnerships in priority sectors, including critical minerals, nuclear energy, digital transformation and artificial intelligence, our countries can lay the foundation for long-term mutually beneficial cooperation,” said Minister Kosherbayev, during the meeting.
Both sides welcomed the positive momentum in political dialogue and the sharp growth in bilateral trade, which reached 1.6 billion US dollars last year – an 84% increase. Particular attention was given to the strong performance of British investment in Kazakhstan, where more than 500 UK-affiliated companies are currently operating. These include major projects in priority sectors such as critical minerals, green energy, digital technologies and artificial intelligence.
In the energy sector, thesides confirmed the continued stability of Kazakh oil supplies to Europe and discussed opportunities to expand cooperation with British companies.
Minister Kosherbayev underscored the strategic importance of developing the critical minerals sector and highlighted successful joint projects with UK companies, including Rio Tinto and Maritime House. Under the recently signed Roadmap on Critical Minerals, the two sides agreed to intensify cooperation in the extraction and processing of rare earth elements.
A particular attention was paid to the United Kingdom’s Critical Minerals Strategy published last year, in which Kazakhstan is presented as a case study of an effective and long-term partnership.Of the 36 minerals designated as strategically important by the UK, 22 are already produced in Kazakhstan – including uranium, titanium, silicon and rhenium. This underlines Kazakhstan’s role as a key partner in strengthening resilient and diversified supply chains.
The interlocutors agreed that cooperation in this field is moving into a practical phase. The focus is shifting beyond extraction toward value creation – including processing and refining, recovery of associated components, development of specialised services, establishment of modern recycling capacity, and transparent financial mechanisms to support investment projects.
A separate segment of the talks focused on cooperation in education. In particular, the opening of a new campus of Coventry University in Almaty and plans to expand the presence of Heriot-Watt University in Kazakhstan were discussed. Minister Kosherbayev highlighted the success of dual-degree programmes, student exchanges and internships, as well as the publication of the first Oxford Kazakh dictionary and the launch of Kazakh language courses at Oxford University.
The parties also discussed the prospects for digital and technological partnership, including cooperation with OneWeb and the development of collaboration in the field of artificial intelligence. In healthcare, Kazakhstan noted the valuable contribution of British experts and companies to the modernization of its national healthcare system.
Concluding the meeting, Acting Minister Bryant reaffirmed the United Kingdom’s commitment to further strengthening its strategic partnership with Kazakhstan, expanding practical cooperation and deepening intergovernmental dialogue to deliver tangible results in the economy, science and technology.