Kazakhstan Sees Strategic Growth in India Ties

• Kazakhstan aims to triple bilateral trade with India.
• India invited for joint infrastructure, logistics, transport projects.
• Kazakhstan supports Viksit Bharat with energy, minerals, agriculture.

At the Central Asia-India Business Council meeting in New Delhi, Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu emphasized India's position as a crucial strategic partner and presented a plan to triple bilateral trade, increase energy and digital cooperation, and encourage Indian investment in innovation and infrastructure.

Nurtleu highlighted the possibility of boosting bilateral trade from $1 billion in 2024 to $3 billion in the near future and mentioned a 41% growth in Indian investments in Kazakhstan, which now total mre than $525 million, according to the sources.

“We consider this only as the beginning. Kazakhstan, as the largest economy in Central Asia and a transit hub between East and West, is ready to strengthen cooperation with India in areas such as trade, digital transformation, critical minerals, energy security, and humanitarian ties,” he said.

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Nurtleu emphasized the significance of creating international corridors, particularly the North-South route and the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, and recognized transportation and logistics connectivity as a crucial area for collaboration. He extended an invitation to the Indian side to take part in cooperative infrastructure projects, such as regional energy grids, fiber-optic cables, and multimodal routes. In the context of India's Viksit Bharat (Developed India) project, Kazakhstan also stated its willingness to establish itself as a dependable supplier of strategic resources, such as energy resources, rare earth metals, and agricultural products.

Participants in the meeting looked at potential in digital technology. Since three years ago, Kazakhstan has increased almost 12-fold its exports of digital solutions, reaching $690 million. Nurtleu demanded more collaboration in the areas of entrepreneurship, IT, research, and knowledge sharing. It was suggested that India's food processing technologies be combined with Kazakhstan's agricultural potential in order to improve agriculture and food security.