Kazakhstan and South Korea have agreed to cooperate on the localization and joint production of pharmaceuticals in Kazakhstan, Qazinform News Agency reports. On September 14, Kazakhstan’s Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova met with Kim Kyung-hoon, CEO of Kyungdong Pharmaceutical, in Seoul and toured the company’s production facilities.
During the meeting, the sides signed a document between Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Healthcare and Kyungdong Pharmaceutical outlining areas for further cooperation. The discussions focused on localizing pharmaceutical production in Kazakhstan, transferring technologies, conducting clinical trials, registering the company’s products in Kazakhstan, and establishing joint manufacturing projects.
Under presidential directives, Kazakhstan has been developing its pharmaceutical industry as a key component of the national healthcare system and as a promising area for attracting investment, expanding domestic production and creating new jobs. In her Instagram post, Alnazarova highlighted several opportunities available to foreign investors, including mechanisms providing long-term guaranteed demand for domestically manufactured products, government support for major investment projects, and opportunities to expand exports to the markets of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Organization of Turkic States.
She also stressed Kazakhstan’s efforts to improve the country’s regulatory environment for the pharmaceutical sector. In February 2026, Kazakhstan reached Maturity Level 3 of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) national regulatory system, becoming the first country in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the fourth country in the WHO European Region to achieve the level.
Earlier, Qazinform reported the Almaty oncology center introduced a robotic pharmacy system.