Kazakhstan has entered the market of North Macedonia for the first time with a trade and economic mission. The visit took place within the framework of the official visit of the Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Arman Shakkaliyev and brought together representatives of business, development institutions, and export-oriented companies.
Opening the mission, Arman Shakkaliyev emphasized the strategic importance of this direction for Kazakhstani business.
“We consider North Macedonia as an entry point to the markets of the Balkans and Southeast Europe. We see real potential for increasing supplies and building long-term partnerships. Kazakhstan intends to strengthen its role as a transit hub between Europe and Asia, including through the development of the Trans-Caspian route,” the Minister noted.
The development of cooperation between the countries had previously been discussed at the highest level. During the meeting between the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the President of North Macedonia Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, mutual interest in expanding trade and economic partnership was confirmed.
At the time of the mission, Kazakhstan was practically not represented in the North Macedonian market in key export categories. Supplies were episodic, which created the need for a systematic entry of domestic companies into the new market.
According to QazTrade, this direction remained largely untapped for Kazakhstani business and opened opportunities for creating new export niches. The potential for cooperation was identified in the following sectors: agriculture, transport and logistics, finance, tourism, light industry, and food products.
Taking into account перспективные sectors, the delegation included Kazakh producers of food products, companies from the light industry, as well as representatives of the logistics and service sectors.
During the mission, the first practical agreements were reached. In particular, QazTrade and representatives of Macedonian business agreed on trade cooperation exceeding 500 million tenge.
Following the visit, a number of bilateral documents were signed, including:
– establishment of a Business Council between Kazakhstan and North Macedonia
– memorandum of cooperation between QazTrade and the Agency for Foreign Investments and Export Promotion of North Macedonia
The first trade and economic mission opened a new chapter in the development of bilateral relations and created a foundation for the systematic presence of Kazakhstani business in the markets of the Balkans and Southeast Europe.