President Tokayev’s first visit to Italy reflects Kazakhstan’s multi-vector foreign policy, extensive engagement with the EU

ASTANA – This year, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s diplomatic itinerary began with his first official visit to Italy, Kazakhstan’s strategic partner and third largest trading partner. Yersultan Zancetov, a senior expert at the Astana-based Institute of World Economics and Politics, said the visit should be viewed through the lens of Kazakhstan’s increased cooperation with the European Union.

This was not only Tokayev’s first official visit in 2024, but also his first official visit as President of Kazakhstan. The collage was designed by Astana Times.Photo courtesy of Akorda Press Service

Just two months after French President Emmanual Macron’s historic visit to Kazakhstan, the visit marks Kazakhstan’s extensive commitment to the EU. Two months before President Macron’s visit, President Tokayev himself made an official visit to Germany, further strengthening relations between Kazakhstan and the EU.

Yersultan Janseytov.

President Tokayev’s visit to Italy reflects Kazakhstan’s constructive and multi-vector foreign policy, beyond increasing contacts with the EU. The last time a Kazakh leader visited Italy was 15 years ago. Oscar Luigi Scalfaro was the only Italian president to visit Kazakhstan in May 1997.

This cooperation reached a milestone in 2009 after the signing of a strategic partnership agreement. In September 2023, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani visited Kazakhstan.

“Especially in the current global geopolitical situation, Kazakhstan is diversifying its foreign connections, trading partners and strategic partners in general,” Dzhanseytov told the Astana Times.

Tokayev and Mattarella before their meeting at the Quirinale Palace.Photo courtesy of Akorda Press Service

The agenda for the visit was packed. It also included meetings with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.

business and economy

According to data from the Ministry of National Economy, the trade volume between Kazakhstan and Italy from January to October 2023 amounted to $13.1 billion, an increase of only 0.7% compared to the same period in 2021.

Of this, Kazakhstan’s exports to Italy were $12.1 billion, of which crude oil accounted for 97.4%, or $11.8 billion. During more than 30 years of cooperation, the energy sector has become a pillar of bilateral cooperation between Kazakhstan and Italy.

According to data from Kazakhstan’s EU delegation, more than 70% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports go to the EU, meeting 6% of the EU’s oil needs.Photo courtesy of Caspian Sea Pipeline Consortium

In addition to oil, Kazakhstan exports wheat, ferroalloys and raw aluminum to Italy.

The value of imports from Italy to Kazakhstan increased by 32.4%, reaching $ 1 billion. This growth was driven by increased imports of seamless pipe, tubing, black metal profiles ($15.8 million to $64 million), tractors and semi-trailers ($1.1 million to $43 million), and soil screening and crushing equipment. (from $7.1 million to $20.1 million, to name a few).

Kazakhstan also imports pharmaceuticals packaged for retail sale, pipeline valves, food, vaccines, and serum.

“Italy is the world’s largest oil exporter” [from Kazakhstan] Therefore, it is clear that the value of Italy in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy cannot be underestimated,” Dzhanseytov said.

signed transaction

This visit was fruitful in terms of business and economics. The Kazakh-Italy roundtable held in Rome on January 18 concluded 18 agreements worth $1.5 billion.

President Tokayev addressed Italian business leaders at the Kazakhstan-Italy Roundtable held in Rome on January 19th. Photo courtesy of Akorda.

“There are still different directions for bilateral cooperation. Firstly, transport and logistics. As we know, the current situation in Eastern Europe requires alternative trade and transport roads,” he said. said. For Kazakhstan, it is the development of an international trans-Caspian transport route.

Although energy has become a priority area for cooperation between Kazakhstan and Italy, Zantseytov also sees great potential in diversifying energy imports and exports.

“Of course, the energy sector is a top priority in bilateral relations, but we still need to expand our energy sector by not only exporting oil, but also by switching to uranium and rare earth metals, which are essential for the construction of all the facilities required for green energy. It is possible to diversify into “energy,” Zantsetov said.

Kazakhstan’s KazMunayGas (KMG) and Italy’s Eni have agreed to build a hybrid power plant with a total capacity of 247 megawatts (MW) in Zanaozen, western Kazakhstan.

According to a KMG statement, the project envisages the construction of a 77 MW wind farm, a 50 MW solar power plant and a 120 MW gas power plant to provide reliable power to KMG’s industrial facilities in the region. There is. This type of hybrid project will be implemented for the first time in Kazakhstan.

Italy’s Eni owns two Badamsha wind farms in Kazakhstan’s Aktobe region. Badamsha 2 will be completed in March 2022, doubling the installed capacity of the first facility. Photo credit: eni.com

“This project is in line with KMG and Eni’s goals of diversifying their business portfolio and decarbonizing their operations, ensuring the long-term sustainable development of our business,” said KMG CEO Magzum Mirzagaliev. Stated. Plans are to bring the project to full design capacity by the end of 2025.

Another important document signed in the energy sector was between Kazakhstan’s Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund and Balestra. This document defines the conditions for the implementation of the project to build a sulfuric acid plant in the Suzak district of the Turkestan region. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 800,000 tons, which will supply sulfuric acid to Kazatomprom State Enterprise.

Agropharma TNK of Kazakhstan, which produces agricultural products on 400,000 hectares of land in the Akmola region, and Bonnicce Ferraresi, an Italian company that grows and sells agricultural products, will exchange experience in the fields of technology, seeds, and human resource development. In the early stages of the partnership, it was agreed. From now on, the two companies will collaborate on processing development, including pasta production.

investing in italy

With the entry into force of these projects, more Italian investments will be injected into Kazakhstan’s economy. According to the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan, since 2005, total foreign direct investment from Italy to Kazakhstan has reached $7.3 billion.

According to the latest data for the first nine months of 2023, the total investment inflow amounted to $107.4 million, an increase of 28.3% compared to the same period in 2022.

In Kazakhstan, Italian investors are involved in projects related to energy, geological exploration, natural resource extraction, construction, infrastructure, transport, communications and agriculture.

In March 2023, Mr. Tokayev visited the site of Petrol Valve Company in Aksai, which specializes in the production and repair of high-tech isolation valves and valves used in the oil and gas industry.Photo courtesy of Acorda

Notable projects include Eni’s Badamsha wind farm in the Aktobe region and a petrol valve production site in Aksai in western Kazakhstan.

At the roundtable, President Tokayev called on Italian companies to consider investing in Kazakhstan in areas such as maintaining the services of the oil and gas industry, critical raw materials and renewable energy, transport and logistics, and the agricultural industry. Ta.

not a very important area

However, there are other areas where Kazakhstan and Italy can benefit from cooperation. Significant progress has been made in education and culture, especially in the creative industries.

Kazakhstan and Italy have nearly 100 interuniversity agreements between their universities. To promote this cooperation, the Ministry of Higher Education of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Universities and Research of the Republic of Italy signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of higher education, research and innovation during the visit.

Both countries are also keen to develop their creative industries, which have multifaceted impacts encompassing economic, cultural and social aspects.

In 2023, the first Italian Cultural Center in Central Asia will be opened in Almaty. There are plans to open the Italy-Kazakhstan Creative Industries and Culture Center this year.

As part of Mr. Tokayev’s visit, the Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Information and the Italian Ministry of Culture signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of arts and culture.

Kazakhstan’s Minister of Culture and Information Aida Baraeva signed a memorandum of understanding with Italy’s Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano.Photo courtesy of Akorda Press Service

According to Italian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Marco Alberti, the visit was not “just a ceremonial event”, but was aimed at revitalizing relations, identifying areas of cooperation and strengthening the partnership.

“This therefore marks a starting point rather than an end point. There is much work ahead, as each commitment made during the visit must be respected,” he said in a social media post. I wrote it in

He praised the “shared ambition for growth and improvement.” “It is recognized that much work still needs to be done to transform the existing relationship into a true strategic partnership,” he wrote.

During the visit, Kazakhstan and Italy agreed to open direct flights between Astana, Rome and Milan. This move will have a positive impact on each country’s efforts to strengthen bilateral relations and, most importantly, people-to-people ties.