Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany
The official visit of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the Federal Republic of Germany opened with a meeting with the heads of leading business associations and financial institutions.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev discussed with the participants prospects for combining German financial resources, expertise and risk-management instruments with Kazakhstan’s resource and institutional potential.
The President stated Kazakhstan’s aspiration to become a reliable partner for Germany in Central Asia and across the Eurasian space.
“I want to underscore that Germany is being deeply respected by my people and enjoy excellent record in Kazakhstan. The discipline of your banking sector, engineering excellence and resilience of the Mittelstand are precisely what we seek to build into our own economy as we pursue modernization and technological transformation. Germany is one of our key partners in Europe. Kazakhstan-Germany cooperation is an integral part of Kazakhstan’s engagement with the European Union, our largest trade and investment partner. We have come a long way together, yet we are still far from delivering the full potential of our economic engagement. Kazakhstan is now ready to take it to a qualitatively new level,” the President said.
The President informed the participants that S&P had recently upgraded Kazakhstan’s sovereign credit rating to BBB with a “stable” outlook. Fitch assigns the same level. According to the President, over the past decade Kazakhstan has also developed one of the most advanced digital and financial ecosystems in the region.
"Development institutions play active role in financing our economy. Last year, their total volume of support stood at 20 billion US dollars. Over the years, the Development Bank of Kazakhstan has financed key industrial, energy and transport infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan with the support of German financial institutions, raising more than 1.2 billion dollars from Deutsche Bank, Helaba, LBBW, Commerzbank, KfW and others,” the Head of State emphasized.
The President proposed establishing a Kazakh-Germany Investment and Finance Platform.
“The Platform would combine German and European capital with Kazakh co-financing, guarantees and risk-sharing instruments, with Baiterek Holding structuring projects on our side. We would welcome the participation of German export credit and investment insurance, alongside the international financial institutions already active in Kazakhstan. In this context, I would particularly highlight the importance we attach to our cooperation with Euler Hermes, which is already working with us,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
According to the Head of State, priority attention should be given to cooperation in critical raw materials. Kazakhstan is interested in cooperating with Germany’s Raw Material Fund, in advancing projects that meet the criteria for UFK guarantees and contribute to strengthening the security of supply for German industry.
Modernization of the energy and industrial sectors, including the development of renewables and green hydrogen. There is significant potential in all these areas for cooperation between the European Investment Bank and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, with the participation of German capital.
Another priority highlighted in the President’s speech was the establishment of a Kazakhstan-Germany Digital Innovation and AI Partnership.
“We invite German companies to bring their strengths in data-centre technologies, energy efficiency, cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity. Another promising area is fintech. Kazakhstan’s advanced digital financial ecosystem allows payment and tokenization solutions to be developed at home and then scaled across the region,” the Head of State said.
According to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, another area of cooperation is the development of Alatau City, which is intended to become a “gateway” for broader participation of the German financial sector in Kazakhstan’s economy.
“This project is the first smart city in Central Asia designed from the outset for the digital age. It can thus become a practical bridge between German institutional capital and Kazakhstan’s investment pipeline. I am confident that Alatau City will become a new destination for talent, technology and business across Eurasia,” the President said.
In conclusion, the President emphasized that building on the high level political dialogue, Kazakhstan and Germany have all the necessary opportunities to develop a close financial, technological and investment partnership. The main goal is not simply to increase capital inflows, but to jointly create new industries and long-term drivers of growth.
The Head of State assured that Kazakhstan would continue to provide a favorable and predictable environment for investors, protect their rights and support strategically important projects.
The event was also addressed by Michael Harms, Executive Director of the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, Elena Melnikov, Managing Director of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK); Wolfgang Niedermark, Member of the Executive Board of the Federation of German Industries (BDI); Boris Greifeneder, Managing Director of German Water Partnership; Melanie Kehr, Member of the Executive Board of KfW Group; Alexander von zur Mühlen, Member of the Management Board of Deutsche Bank AG; Edna Schöne, Member of the Management Board of Euler Hermes AG; and Marck Wengrzik, Managing Director of AKA Ausfuhrkredit-Gesellschaft mbH.