Energy and Economy

 

Tokayev Announces New Economic Model in State of the Nation Address

On September 1, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-JomartTokayev delivered his annual State of the Nation address, outlining the new economic course of the country “guided by principles of fairness, inclusiveness, and pragmatism.” He advocated for accelerated development of the manufacturing sector including the improvement in the processing of metals, oil, gas, coal chemistry, uranium conversion and enrichment, and automotive components. “To support the manufacturing industry, foreign and domestic investors should be exempted from paying taxes and other obligatory payments for the first three years,” Tokayev added. 

Source: Astana Times

Kazakhstan Signed Grain Deal with China

On September 3, Kazakhstan’s Agriculture Minister YerbolKarashukeyev and the Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Lin Wu held a meeting that resulted in agricultural deals between Kazakhstan and China. A memorandum was signed between Kazakhstan’s Food Corporation and China’s BingzhouZhouyu Foods with a plan to supply 200,000 tons of Kazakh grain to China. The first 1,300 tons of grains will be delivered from Kazakhstan to Shandong Province. The meeting also resulted in the opening of a new Shandong forming center inAlmaty. 

Source: Astana Times

Kazakhstan to Increase Oil Supplies to Germany Through Russia

The oil trade has significantly increased between Kazakhstan and Germany in 2023 with an estimated 3.7 million barrels of Kazakh oil supplied to Germany. Despite the political risk, the Kazakh national oil pipeline company, Kaztransoil, carried out an important upgrade at its link to the Russian oil network to strengthen oil transmission through Russia to Germany. The Kazakh side replaced the last 45 kilometers (about 27.96 mi) of the total pipeline with new pipes and built a new metering station for a proper measurement of the Kazakh oil before transmitting it into Russian pipelines.

Source: Upstream

Azerbaijan Trade House Opens in Beijing

On September 3, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Economy inaugurated the Azerbaijan Trade House in Beijing, China. The AzerbaijanTrade House was established to promote the “Made in Azerbaijan” brand in China’s market, expand the export of Azerbaijani products to China, and carry out coordinationbetween Azerbaijani and Chinese business leaders. 

Source: Azertag

Turkmenistan and the EU Boost Trade Volumes

On September 5, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, announced that the trade exchanges between Turkmenistan and European Union (EU) member states between January and May 2023 reached more than 494.66 million euros. Turkmenistan’s exports to the EU reached 273.16 million euros during this period, an increase of 29% compared to the corresponding months in 2022. 

Source: Trend

A Korean Company Plans to Open Manufacturing Plant in Kazakhstan

A major Korean company, Ofe Co., Ltd, announced its ongoing work to establish an elevator manufacturing plant in Kazakhstan. As part of this project, Ofe Co., Ltd, will establish an R&D center for elevator development and an education center, and it will construct a specialized testing tower, as well as open an elevator and components manufacturing plant. The company received financing approval from the South Korean Government to invest over $8 million into the project.

Source: Kazakh Invest

Security and Politics

 

Turkish Foreign Minister Travels to Iran

On September 3, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrived in Tehran to hold meetings with his counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. The two sides discussed bilateral, regional, and international issues, including the current geopolitical situation in the South Caucasus. 

Source: Tehran Times

Armenia Recalls Permanent Representative to CSTO

On September 5, Armenia’s Permanent and Plenipotentiary Representative to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Victor Biyagov was recalled because he was appointed as the Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. 

Source: Public Radio of Armenia

Sources: Astana Times, Azertag, Kazakh Invest, Public Radio of Armenia, Tehran Times, Trend, Upstream