The official visit of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the Federal Republic of Germany opened with a meeting with the heads of leading business associations and financial institutions, Qazinform News Agency learnt from the Akorda press service. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev discussed with the participants prospects for combining German financial resources, expertise and risk-management instruments with Kazakhstan’s resource and institutional potential.
The President stated Kazakhstan’s aspiration to become a reliable partner for Germany in Central Asia and across the Eurasian space. “I want to underscore that Germany is being deeply respected by my people and enjoy excellent record in Kazakhstan. The discipline of your banking sector, engineering excellence and resilience of the Mittelstand are precisely what we seek to build into our own economy as we pursue modernization and technological transformation.
Germany is one of our key partners in Europe. Kazakhstan-Germany cooperation is an integral part of Kazakhstan’s engagement with the European Union, our largest trade and investment partner. We have come a long way together, yet we are still far from delivering the full potential of our economic engagement.
Kazakhstan is now ready to take it to a qualitatively new level,” the President said. The President informed the participants that S&P had recently upgraded Kazakhstan’s sovereign credit rating to BBB with a “stable” outlook. Fitch assigns the same level. According to the President, over the past decade Kazakhstan has also developed one of the most advanced digital and financial ecosystems in the region.
"Development institutions play active role in financing our economy. Last year, their total volume of support stood at 20 billion US dollars. Over the years, the Development Bank of Kazakhstan has financed key industrial, energy and transport infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan with the support of German financial institutions, raising more than 1.2 billion dollars from Deutsche Bank, Helaba, LBBW, Commerzbank, KfW and others,” the Head of State emphasized.
The President proposed establishing a Kazakh-Germany Investment and Finance Platform. “The Platform would combine German and European capital with Kazakh co-financing, guarantees and risk-sharing instruments, with Baiterek Holding structuring projects on our side.
We would welcome the participation of German export credit and investment insurance, alongside the international financial institutions already active in Kazakhstan. In this context, I would particularly highlight the importance we attach to our cooperation with Euler Hermes, which is already working with us,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
According to the Head of State, priority attention should be given to cooperation in critical raw materials. Kazakhstan is interested in cooperating with Germany’s Raw Material Fund, in advancing projects that meet the criteria for UFK guarantees and contribute to strengthening the security of supply for German industry.
Modernization of the energy and industrial sectors, including the development of renewables and green hydrogen. There is significant potential in all these areas for cooperation between the European Investment Bank and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, with the participation of German capital.
Another priority highlighted in the President’s speech was the establishment of a Kazakhstan-Germany Digital Innovation and AI Partnership. “We invite German companies to bring their strengths in data-centre technologies, energy efficiency, cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity.