Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov held a meeting on Tuesday on the subject of economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and the European Union, Qazmonitor reports via the press service of the prime minister.
The event was attended by the head of the European Union representation in Kazakhstan, ambassadors of Germany, France, Spain, Lithuania, Poland, Belgium, Sweden, Slovakia, Estonia, Croatia, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Latvia, Finland, Italy, Austria, Greece and Romania to Kazakhstan, as well as the heads of central government agencies and national companies.
Opening the meeting, Smailov noted that the European Union has been one of the main political, trade and economic and investment partners of Kazakhstan for many years.
As an indicator, the prime minister pointed out that the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and the EU countries in the first six months of 2022 amounted to $20.1 billion, which is 51.2% higher compared to the same period of 2021.
The gross inflow of foreign investments in the first quarter increased by 54% and amounted to $6.8 billion, while the level of capital attraction in the mining industry grew by 35.7% to $3.5 billion.
"We see that the European Union is interested in Kazakhstan's mining industry. Indeed, the potential for cooperation in this sector is huge. In this regard, we offer the geological industry of the European Union a joint partnership in the field of digitalization, development of geological science and creation of industrial infrastructure."
Smailov also said that within the automation of the industry, a single platform called "Kaznedra" is being created by combining and integrating all existing information systems in the field of subsoil use. This platform will contribute to the provision of comprehensive service support to investors via the 'single window' mode.
It was also stressed that Kazakhstan, along with traditional types of geological exploration, is interested in advanced methods of geophysical research.
"I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate Kazakhstan's unwavering intention to expand and strengthen our economic cooperation with the countries of the European Union," said Alikhan Smailov.
During the meeting, the participants discussed the issues of mining, application of new technologies, digitization of geological data, the attraction of investments, processing of industrial waste and environmental protection.
