Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov and Vice President of the Republic of Türkiye Cevdet Yılmaz, who is on a working visit to Kazakhstan, held bilateral talks and chaired the 14th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.
In a narrow format, the two sides exchanged views on the current level of trade and economic cooperation and discussed measures to unlock the potential of bilateral relations with the aim of further increasing trade turnover in line with the agreements reached at the level of the Presidents of Kazakhstan and Türkiye — Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Special attention was paid to preparations for the state visit of the President of Türkiye to Kazakhstan.
The Head of the Kazakhstan Government informed the Turkish Vice President about the main content of Kazakhstan’s new Constitution, emphasizing that under the leadership of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the country is entering a new historical stage of development.
The meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, attended by heads of state bodies from both countries, reviewed a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, industry, transport and logistics, energy, digitalization and artificial intelligence, agriculture, healthcare, as well as cultural and humanitarian interaction.
“The sincere friendship between the leaders of our states — Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan — has become a good tradition and a solid foundation for bilateral relations. Our trade, economic and investment ties are developing dynamically. Türkiye is one of Kazakhstan’s five largest trading partners. Trade turnover between the two countries grew by 9% last year. Of this, Kazakh exports increased by more than 17.7%, reaching $3.9 billion. The Government of Kazakhstan is interested in joint work to diversify the structure of trade by shifting focus to high value-added products,” Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov emphasized.
“Türkiye and Kazakhstan are not only friendly and brotherly nations, but also strategic partners bound by common history and culture. The decisive actions and shared vision of our Presidents — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev — have played a huge role in achieving the high level of cooperation. We view today’s meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission as a basis for strategic consultations that will shape the Roadmap for trade and economic relations for the coming period,” Vice President of the Republic of Türkiye Cevdet Yılmaz noted.
Regarding the implementation of new joint projects, the Kazakh side expressed readiness to provide industrial platforms and state support instruments. Last year, approximately $390 million in Turkish investments were attracted to the Kazakh economy, with the total amount over 20 years exceeding $6 billion. To date, 98 investment projects worth $4 billion have been launched in construction, light industry, metallurgy, deep processing of agro-industrial products, transport and logistics, pharmaceutical production, electronic devices, and other sectors. Another 50 projects worth $3.9 billion are at the implementation stage.
Rail freight traffic between Kazakhstan and Türkiye reached 6.4 million tons in 2025, a 35% increase compared to 2024. Over 4 million tons were transported via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. The common priority is the development of the Middle Corridor and joint efforts to modernize infrastructure, eliminate bottlenecks, expand port and terminal capacities, introduce digital solutions, and coordinate tariff policy. As a result of measures already taken, cargo traffic along the route has grown fivefold over the past seven years, while delivery times have been reduced to 13 days.
In the agro-industrial complex, trade turnover increased by more than 25% last year, reaching $360 million. Authorized bodies and businesses of the two countries have established an exchange of experience in agrotechnologies and insurance. Participants highlighted the importance of diversifying trade turnover by expanding the export range and launching new joint production of high value-added products. To further increase Kazakh exports of wheat, lentils, fodder and oilseeds, the need for joint work in veterinary and phytosanitary control was emphasized.
Issues of energy partnership were discussed, including the implementation of major joint projects in the oil and gas sector and geological exploration. The strategic importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which runs through Turkish territory and transports Kazakh oil, was noted. Exchanging experience in introducing innovations in the energy, coal, and other sectors will take cooperation between the two countries to a qualitatively new level.
Within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States, Kazakhstan and Türkiye, together with other member countries, are working on the establishment of a Cybersecurity Council and the CubeSat-12U satellite. Special attention was paid to the initiatives of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on digitalization of the Kazakh economy and large-scale implementation of artificial intelligence. The potential for joint projects in IT education, fintech, cybersecurity, and electronic services was noted. Two of the largest supercomputer clusters in Central Asia have been launched in Astana, and the Alem.ai International Artificial Intelligence Center has been opened. The “Data Center Valley” project is being implemented, offering investors and partners capacity, infrastructure, and special tax incentives.
In healthcare, key areas of cooperation include investment collaboration, exchange of information technologies, and academic experience. With the participation of Turkish partners, projects are being implemented in Kazakhstan for the construction of new hospitals, development of oncology infrastructure, university clinics, and pharmaceutical production.
Proposals and comments on further strengthening partnership were made by heads of the Ministries of Transport, Trade and Integration, Energy, Agriculture, Industry and Construction, and Education from the Kazakh side, and by heads of the Ministries of Transport and Infrastructure, Trade, Energy and Natural Resources, Agriculture and Forestry, Industry and Technology, and National Education from the Turkish side.
Following the meeting, the two sides signed the Protocol of the 14th meeting of the Kazakh-Turkish Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.
