Photo: primeminister.kz
In Astana in the framework of the state visit of the President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk-Yeol met with the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, Phoenix 24 reports.
The issues of further implementation of the agreements reached during the talks between the Head of State Kasym-Jomart Tokayev and the President of Korea Yoon Suk- Yeol were discussed. Attention is paid to the expansion of trade and economic cooperation, strengthening cooperation in industrial, energy, aviation and other sectors.
“Kazakhstan sees great prospects in the development of trade and economic partnership. In order to ensure the dynamic development of bilateral cooperation, the Government is ready to immediately begin practical implementation of all agreements reached at the highest level,” Olzhas Bektenov stressed.
Kazakhstan is interested in the implementation of joint projects in such promising areas as energy, development and processing of rare earth metals, infrastructure, production of cars and their components, efficient use of water resources, finance and others.
The development of the manufacturing sector is one of the priority areas of work of the Government of Kazakhstan in fulfilment of the Head of State’s instruction to diversify the economy. To date, a high rate of investment by Korean companies in the development of Kazakhstan’s machine-building industry has been achieved. Automotive clusters are being formed in Kazakhstan, and it is planned to set up the production of components. For example, in Almaty there is a small-scale assembly of Hyundai cars, in Kostanay region there is a production of KIA brand cars, in Semey city there is a joint production of Daewoo Bus Global buses. In the near future, Korean companies will start producing car seats and multimedia for cars in Kazakhstan.
Taking into account the agreements signed the day before, new prospects for further expansion of Korean presence and localisation of production of large corporations are opening up. Kazakhstan’s interest in the production of batteries for electric cars using South Korean technologies was emphasised. Olzhas Bektenov emphasised the interest in further strengthening cooperation in the automotive industry and assistance of the Korean side in the training of Kazakhstani personnel for the automotive industry of the country.
In addition, Kazakhstan and Korea will intensify the exchange of technologies and joint implementation of projects in priority sectors. In the field of sorting, processing and elimination of waste is a promising project to build a waste treatment plant. In the metallurgical sector establishment of ferroalloys production. In the sphere of geology there is cooperation in the field of joint mining and processing of rare-earth metals and production of high value-added products in Kazakhstan with subsequent delivery to Korea on mutually beneficial terms.
Hydrogen energy may also become one of the promising areas for co-operation. Localisation of lift equipment production, in turn, will improve the safety of construction projects. In aviation, to strengthen cultural and humanitarian ties and business contacts, the issue of launching new passenger air routes will be worked out. The necessity is caused by a two-fold increase in the number of Korean tourists in Kazakhstan over the past year.
For reference: Kazakhstan has a specially created Working Group on cooperation with the Republic of Korea. A number of promising projects are under consideration, such as construction of a new Lotte confectionery factory in Almaty region, production of Samsung household appliances in Karaganda region, Hi Air Korea oil and gas equipment in Almaty and others.