On May 23, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held talks with the President of the Republic of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the Istana Palace, Akorda press service reports.
At the meeting, the two leaders discussed the potential for strengthening trade, economic, investment, cultural, and humanitarian ties. In particular, President Tokayev stated Kazakhstan's interest in expanding its partnership with Singapore in such key sectors as energy, processing of critical minerals, infrastructure development, digital economy, fin-tech, agri-tech, logistics, and connectivity.
Over 140 Singaporean entities and joint ventures operate in Kazakhstan, with total Singaporean investment in the Kazakh economy exceeding $1.7 billion.
Despite the economic challenges and difficulties caused by the pandemic, the volume of mutual trade is expected to exceed $2 billion in the near future.
Tokayev noted that this is the first visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Singapore in more than 20 years. He emphasized that he is well acquainted with the country, having previously worked here as a diplomat in the 1970s.
Kazakhstan stands ready to open a new chapter in bilateral cooperation, focused on a trustful political dialogue and dynamic trade and investment ties, stated President Tokayev. In turn, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam praised the progressive development of interaction between Kazakhstan and Singapore.
The Presidents agreed to collaborate on promoting mutually beneficial investment projects, including strengthening the legal framework of bilateral relations. The parties agreed on the need to intensify their collaboration in education and human capital development.