Speaking at the closing session of the Türkiye-Kazakhstan Business Forum, President Erdoğan said: “Türkiye is a country which has ensured its energy supply security by diversifying its resources years earlier. We hope to deliver larger quantities of oil from Kazakhstan to global markets through our country.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the closing session of the Türkiye-Kazakhstan Business Forum in Astana, Kazakhstan.
“We will always be the strongest supporter of Kazakhstan”
“I would like to reiterate my gratitude to my esteemed brother Mr. Tokayev for the close interest he takes in the issues concerning our businesspeople. Right at the beginning of my speech, I offer my most heartfelt congratulations to the brotherly Kazakh people on the Defender of the Fatherland Day and Victory Day, marked a couple of days ago,” President Erdoğan said. “We see that the reform program implemented under the leadership of Mr. Tokayev is the driving force behind Kazakhstan’s progress. In this regard, I wish for the new constitution, adopted with the referendum held on March 15, to be auspicious for the brotherly Kazakh people. Let me once again underscore that we will always be the strongest supporter of Kazakhstan, which celebrates the 35th anniversary of its independence.”
“Kazakhstan became our top trade partner in the Turkic World in 2025”
President Erdoğan stated: “During the talks we held earlier today, we addressed a wide range of matters on our agenda. We signed 13 separate documents that would strengthen our bilateral cooperation. I believe that the Business Forum will contribute to furthering the economic and commercial relations between our countries. We are delighted that our economic relations with Kazakhstan are growing stronger day by day through your precious contributions. We follow with great pleasure the progress Kazakhstan is making in the area of economy under the strong leadership of Mr. Tokayev. Kazakhstan’s gross domestic product registered a striking 6.5 percent growth in 2025, with its national income per capita nearing $15 thousand. Now we are speaking of a Kazakhstan that is the Central Asia’s largest economy with its foreign trade volume totaling almost $145 billion. Due partly to this growth, Kazakhstan became our top trade partner in the Turkic world in 2025. From construction to finance, tourism to IT, our companies numbering about 5,500 contribute not only to welfare but also to our brotherhood with their investments worth approximately $6 billion. Our contractors have undertaken over 500 projects worth nearly $30 billion across the country, making Türkiye proud with the projects they have successfully completed and put at the service of the Kazakh people. On the other hand, we are highly pleased that Kazakhstan’s investments in our country are increasing day by day. Over 750 Kazakh companies continue their operations in Türkiye with their investments nearing $2 billion. Thanks to this strong partnership based on mutual trust, our trade volume approached $10 billion by the end of last year. Not settling for these, we are of course maintaining our resolute efforts to reach our $15 billion target in a sustainable and balanced manner. To be honest, I am confident that we can achieve much more, we can reach much higher levels. In this respect, the comprehensive action plan that we adopted during the Mixed Economic Commission meeting last month in Astana will bring a new momentum to our trade and investment relations. We are of the opinion that the agreement on the protection and mutual promotion of investments that we signed on the occasion of today’s High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting will further incentivize mutual investments.”
“We are following with admiration the breakthroughs Kazakhstan makes in artificial intelligence”
President Erdoğan said: “During our talks today, we also addressed issues that would have favorable impacts on our trade, including the transition to an electronic permit system with Kazakhstan, expanding the transit permit quotas, and liberalizing the bilateral and transit transportation. I hope that we will make progress on these issues in the period ahead. We are faced with multidimensional challenges like regional conflicts, energy supply security, AI transformation, and ruptures in supply chains. This dynamism increases the importance of enhanced cooperation between countries. We are following with admiration the breakthroughs Kazakhstan makes in artificial intelligence in line with President Tokayev’s visionary approach. Tomorrow, we will convene the Informal Summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Turkistan, Khoja Ahmed Yasawi’s homeland. I would like to state that we find it highly appropriate and accurate that the main theme of the summit has been designated as artificial intelligence and digital development.”
“We are working toward the revitalization of the Trans-Caspian Middle Corridor”
President Erdoğan continued his remarks as follows: “Regarding energy, today, we also addressed with my treasured brother a large spectrum of cooperation opportunities from the operation and transportation of hydrocarbon fields to the exploration of critical minerals. Türkiye is a country which has ensured its energy supply security by diversifying its resources years earlier. We hope to deliver larger quantities of oil from Kazakhstan to global markets through our country. We have a very strong and long-standing cooperation with Kazakhstan in the field of the defense industry, in which we have made significant breakthroughs. With my treasured brother, we, today, reaffirmed our will to further our cooperation in this area through new projects, including joint production. We are working toward the revitalization of the Trans-Caspian Middle Corridor by integrating our railway connections, port infrastructure, and digital customs systems. While bringing our countries closer together, our goal also remains to position the Eurasian region in a more competitive place within the global economy.”
