The Kazakh delegation, led by First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar, made a working visit to Berlin to finalize joint plans for the practical implementation of agreements reached in September of this year with the leadership of the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations and representatives of major companies, QazMonitor reports citing primeminister.kz.
During the meeting with Robert Habeck, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany, the parties noted the growing interest in Kazakhstan in the context of 'green' transformation. This interest is driven not only by the availability of cheap energy sources in the republic but also by the attractiveness of our country for the implementation of large-scale green projects, including energy-intensive production.
In this context, the parties highlighted the implementation of a green hydrogen project in the west of Kazakhstan by the Svevind Energy Group. This project, one of the largest in the world in this industry, is valued at about $50 billion. To effectively realize these plans, the German office of hydrogen diplomacy was opened in Astana this year.
Sklyar noted that the cooperation between Kazakhstan and Germany under the Raw Materials, Industry, and Technology framework is expected to yield win-win results for both sides.
We welcome the inclusion of Kazakhstan in the list of 34 countries for which a favorable procedure for the provision of investment guarantees has been approved. We consider it not only an important signal of recognition of the high political stability and security of investments in our republic but also a confirmation of interest in expanding business partnerships.
In turn, Habeck emphasized that collaboration with Kazakhstan in the energy and resources sector is highly sought after for the German economy. He mentioned the ongoing establishment of interaction between the National Geological Service and the Federal Institute of Geosciences and Natural Resources of Germany, with a prepared list of specific projects for joint implementation expected by the summer of 2024.
The Kazakh delegation also discussed the strengthening of interstate work mechanisms for the effective realization of upcoming large-scale tasks with the German State Secretary for Economic, Finance, and European Affairs, Jorg Kukies, and Michael Grosse-Bromer, the Chairman of the Economic Committee in the Bundestag.
Additionally, Zulfia Suleimenova, Advisor to the President and Special Representative of the President for International Environmental Cooperation, discussed with her German colleagues the collaboration between the two countries in the G7 Climate Club, the implementation of the German Federal Government's initiative Green Central Asia, and several ongoing environmental projects.
Furthermore, Vice Minister of Agriculture Abulkhair Tamabek and Parliamentary State Secretary Ophelia Nick from the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture signed a joint statement, which outlines the intentions of both agencies to develop and deepen cooperation within the German-Kazakh Agricultural Policy Dialogue.
In another meeting, Vice-Minister of Transport Talgat Lastayev and State Secretary Hartmut Hoppner from the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport focused on the prospects of German involvement in projects to develop the transport system and enhance Kazakhstan's transit potential.