Italy – Kazakhstan, President Tokayev in Italy: Goal to Strengthen Strategic Partnership
Kazakhstan represents a fast-growing market for Italian exports, increasing by 31.1% in the first ten months of 2023. During the visit, 16 memorandums of understanding were signed, with visits to Pope Francis, FAO, and WFP scheduled for Friday, January 19
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is in Italy, where he met with President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and then took part in a round table on cooperation and investment in Farnesina in the presence of the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani.
Since 2009, Italy and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement on strategic partnership, decided by then President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Silvio Berlusconi, “a cooperation that is developing in various profiles: political, economic, cultural, and which we want to maximize,” explained Sergio Mattarella. “Kazakhstan and Italy are bound by the UN principles and multilateralism, which facilitates our cooperation.”
Astana represents a particularly important commercial partner for Rome: Italy has the third largest trade with Kazakhstan after Russia and China and is the most important recipient of Kazakh exports, particularly thanks to oil produced by ENI in the Caspian Sea. Rome is also among the top ten largest foreign investors in this Central Asian country. According to the Italian economic newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, 170 companies with Italian participation operate in Kazakhstan on a permanent basis. Italy mainly exports equipment and means of production serving the energy and petrochemical sectors, while it essentially imports hydrocarbons, but the cooperation is fundamental for Rome also in terms of the future, given Kazakhstan’s reserves of rare earth metals and essential minerals.
Last September, Minister Tajani traveled to Astana, where he signed a declaration with his counterpart Murat Nurtleu to develop initiatives aimed at economic and industrial cooperation in the areas of decarbonization, new technologies and digital transition and, in particular, rare earths.
Today, 16 memorandums were signed at the end of a round table in Farnesina, attended by 100 organizations, associations, and large industrial groups, covering energy, infrastructure, agri-food, defense, and security.
These include an agreement between the financial and insurance group SACE and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, an agreement that envisages cooperation between Ansaldo Energia and the electric power company Samruk Energy, between ENI and the chemical group Ballestra with the Samruk-Kazyna fund. Also in the energy sector, there is an agreement between Fiorentini, which deals with gas supply chain solutions, and Kazakhstan’s QazaGaz. Agreements were then signed between Confindustria and the Kazakh partner association, as well as contracts covering various sectors such as industrial equipment, engineering design, agri-food industry, and others.
Kazakhstan represents a fast-growing market for Italian exports (+31.1% in the first ten months of 2023), driven by sales in the fashion sector (textiles and clothing, jewelry, art, and leather goods), as well as wood products, electrical appliances and metals. Regarding the memorandums of understanding, the first memorandum, as explained in the press release, signed with KazakhExport, aims to develop trade relations between Italy and Kazakhstan, encouraging the business of Italian companies, interested in operating in Central Asia, and Kazakh companies, interested in accessing the Italian market. The agreement also provides for SACE’s support to KazakhExport in developing new insurance and financial products and promoting existing business lines. The second memorandum of understanding, signed with DBK, aims to strengthen trade relations between the two countries by identifying new business opportunities in priority sectors, such as energy, metallurgy, mining, transportation, tool mechanics, and food processing, in which SACE is committed to valuing operations in the range of €100 million. As part of this agreement, the parties also undertake to organize Business Matching events with the participation of Italian and Kazakh colleagues.
This is Tokayev’s first visit to Italy, and he will conclude his visit on January 19 with a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican before visiting the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN World Food Program (WFP).