As part of the official visit to the Republic of India, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu took part in the Central Asia – India Business Council, DKnews.kz reports.
In his speech, the Kazakh Foreign Minister emphasized India’s importance as a key strategic partner in South Asia and noted the existing potential for growth in bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and India – from the current 1 billion US dollars in 2024 to 3 billion dollars in the near future. He also drew attention to the 41% increase in Indian investments in Kazakhstan’s economy, which exceeded 525 million dollars.
“We consider this only as the beginning. Kazakhstan, as the largest economy in Central Asia and a transit hub between East and West, is ready to strengthen cooperation with India in such areas as trade, digital transformation, critical minerals, energy security, and humanitarian ties,” the Minister stated.
Particular attention was paid to transport and logistical connectivity. Minister Nurtleu emphasized the importance of developing international corridors, particularly the “North – South” route and the Middle Corridor, and invited the Indian side to participate in joint infrastructure projects, including multimodal routes, fiber-optic lines, and regional energy grids.
Kazakhstan also expressed its readiness to become a reliable supplier of strategic resources, including energy resources, rare earth metals, and agricultural products within the framework of India’s Viksit Bharat (Developed India) initiative.
The sides explored opportunities in the field of digital technologies: over the past three years, the export of digital solutions from Kazakhstan has increased almost 12-fold, reaching 690 million US dollars. The Kazakh Minister called for deeper cooperation in the fields of IT, startups, research, and knowledge exchange.
In the field of agriculture and food security, it was proposed to combine Kazakhstan’s agrarian potential with India’s food processing technologies.
Among other promising areas, the growth of tourist flow from India was noted: in 2024, it reached 150,000 people – almost twice as many as the year before. Contributing factors included the introduction of a 14-day visa-free regime and the launch of direct flights between Almaty and New Delhi. Kazakhstan expressed its readiness to support the opening of hotels and restaurants offering Indian cuisine in the country’s key cities.
In the area of investment attraction, Minister Nurtleu noted the presence of a favorable climate: the introduction, starting from May 2025, of a 10-year investment visa (“golden visa”) for foreign nationals investing from 300,000 US dollars, and the active role of the Astana International Financial Centre as a regional financial hub, similar to India’s “GIFT City,” London, and Dubai.
In conclusion, the Kazakh side proposed to host the next session of the council in Kazakhstan, expressing confidence that the meetings held will pave the way for concrete business outcomes.
The Central Asia – India Business Council reaffirmed the shared commitment to deepening multilateral partnership and creating new growth points amid the global transformation of the world economy.
