ASTANA – Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the Kazakhstan-Turkey Business Forum on May 14, setting a goal to increase trade volume to $15 billion, while highlighting the expansion of bilateral cooperation in industry, transport, agriculture, medicine and digital technology.
From left to right: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kassym Jomart Tokayev spoke at the Kazakhstan-Turkey Business Forum on May 14. Photo credit: Akorda.
At the beginning of the forum, Mr. Tokayev said that Kazakhstan continues to provide comprehensive support to Turkish companies, calling Turkiye one of the country’s important strategic and investment partners.
“Currently, around 3,800 companies with Turkish capital are successfully operating in Kazakhstan. Thanks to the joint efforts of our two countries, thousands of jobs have been created,” Tokayev said.
Kazakhstan promotes investment and industrial cooperation
Tokayev highlighted Kazakhstan’s economic performance, noting that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.5% last year, exceeding $300 billion.
“Kazakhstan is the largest economy in Central Asia. This shows the stability and huge potential of our domestic market,” he said.
At the beginning of the forum, Mr. Tokayev described Turkiye as one of the country’s important strategic and investment partners. Photo courtesy of Acorda.
Tokayev also called on Turkish investors to take advantage of Kazakhstan’s Altyn visa program, which provides tax and migration benefits to foreign investors. He emphasized the growing role of the Astana International Financial Center, which currently hosts more than 5,600 companies from nearly 90 countries, including 73 Turkish companies.
Particular attention was paid to industrial cooperation. According to Tokayev, Kazakh and Turkish companies have already implemented 142 joint projects worth $7.6 billion.
Among the major projects mentioned are investments in manufacturing and pharmaceutical production by YDA Holding, construction and chemical projects by Panelsan and Betek Boya, as well as a power plant launched by AXA Energy in the Kyzylorda region.
Turkish companies are also playing a growing role in Kazakhstan’s aviation infrastructure.
Tokayev said: “TAV Holding is proceeding with the reconstruction of the international terminal at Almaty Airport. S-System Logistics has expressed interest in building a logistics center at Aktobe Airport. These initiatives will contribute to strengthening the potential of the domestic aviation industry.”
Agriculture and medicine included as key priorities
Tokayev said Kazakhstan sees great opportunities for cooperation in agriculture and food processing. He pointed out that Kazakhstan ranks sixth in the world in terms of cultivated land and remains one of the world’s top grain exporters, harvesting 27 million tons of grain last year.
He said several Turkish companies are planning agricultural and food processing projects in Kazakhstan, including Tiryaki Holding, which plans to build a grain and pulse processing plant in Astana, and Iskefeh, which plans to launch a gelatin production facility. Alarco Holding also plans to build a greenhouse complex in Shymkent.
Turkish pharmaceutical companies Abdi Ibrahim and Nobel have opened their first overseas production facility in Kazakhstan, and YDA Group is building multipurpose hospitals in Turkestan and Petropavlovsk.
“We fully support all these initiatives and are confident that they will be a strong incentive for Kazakhstan to become a major pharmaceutical and export hub in the region,” Tokatev said.
AI, digitalization and the development of Alatau
He said Kazakhstan recently established a ministry focused on artificial intelligence and digital development, launched two supercomputers and opened the Alem.ai international AI center in Astana.
“We are ready to carry out joint projects with Turkish companies in the fields of artificial intelligence, fintech, cybersecurity and online services,” he said.
Tokayev pointed out that business cooperation between digital companies in Türkiye and Kazakhstan is expanding. Kazakhstan’s Kaspi.kz has acquired a controlling stake in Turkish e-commerce platform Hepsiburada, and Freedom Holding Corporation has begun expanding its digital ecosystem and brokerage operations in Turkiye.
President Erdoğan calls Türkiye the world’s biggest economic partner for Kazakhstan Turkiye
President Erdoğan praised Kazakhstan’s economic achievements and described the country as Turkey’s largest trading and economic partner in the world.
“In 2025, Kazakhstan will become Turkey’s largest trading and economic partner in the world,” President Erdoğan said.
He pointed out that Kazakhstan’s economy grew by 6.5% in 2025, with per capita GDP approaching $15,000 and total foreign trade reaching $145 billion.
“Of course, we do not intend to stop at the current indicators. Our goal is to increase the bilateral trade volume to $15 billion,” Erdoğan said.
