Vice Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan Kairat Torebayev spoke at the country session of the 10th Global Summit «Vibrant Gujarat», which is being held in India from January 10 to 12, 2024. The theme of the summit is «Industry 4.0 – the Industrial Revolution, Technology and Innovation: Fostering Inclusive Growth and Moving Towards Sustainable Development».
The Gujarat Summit has been held in Gandhinagar since 2003 on the initiative of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. On its platform, the participating countries discuss issues of socio-economic development and promising projects for foreign investment.
In February, Kazakhstan and India will celebrate the 32nd anniversary of cooperation since the establishment of diplomatic relations. Our countries interact within the framework of such major international organizations as the UN, SCO, CICA, and the Central Asia – India Dialogue. Trade relations between Kazakhstan and India continue to develop. In 2022, the mutual trade turnover reached 2.5 billion dollars. At the same time, for 10 months of 2023, the volume of trade between our countries decreased to $ 811.2 mln, which corresponds to the level of the pandemic in 2020-21.
«Kazakhstan is the main trade partner of India among the Central Asian countries and is ready to further increase the trade turnover in the amount of $148.1 mln. Having significant natural resources in the energy sector, our country is a reliable partner for India in ensuring the supply of oil, gas and other energy resources. In turn, the capacious Indian market is interesting for Kazakhstan’s exporters of goods and services», – Kairat Torebayev said in his speech.
In particular, Kazakh enterprises can increase the supply of products from the metallurgical, chemical, food, construction and machine-building industries.
During the plenary session, the Vice Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan expressed the need to deepen cooperation between our countries, as well as increase mutual investments and implement joint projects in areas with great potential for growth. Projects in the areas of digitalization, innovation, healthcare, education, and tourism may be the most promising areas for expanding cooperation.
Today, about 400 legal entities with Indian capital are registered in Kazakhstan. The inflow of foreign direct investment from India to Kazakhstan over the past 25 years amounted to $ 414 mln.
For its part, our country creates all conditions for attracting Indian investors and developing mutually beneficial business ties. Kazakhstan lifted entry restrictions, resumed visa-free travel for citizens of 91 countries, and launched a service for issuing electronic visas through the Visa-Migration Portal of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Starting from 2022, a visa-free 14-day regime has been opened for Indian citizens.
On the sidelines of the Gujarat summit, Kairat Torebayev discussed with representatives of the Indian side the holding of the 15th meeting of the Kazakh-Indian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical, Industrial and Cultural Cooperation in Astana. The previous IGC meeting was held in June 2022 in New Delhi.
For reference:
In January-October 2023, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and India amounted to $ 811.2 mln, exports – $ 312.7 mln, imports – $ 498.5 mln. The decline in Kazakhstan’s exports is due to a decrease in oil supplies to India.
Kazakhstan exports crude oil, hydrogen, inert gases and other non-metals, asbestos, and ferroalloys to India. The main goods of Indian imports are medicines, aircraft, equipment for sorting and grinding soil, telephone sets, tea.
