Astana, Sep 29 (EFE).- Italy is one of Kazakhstan’s three largest trading partners, having invested $7.5 billion in the Central Asian nation over the past twenty years, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Monday as he welcomed his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, to Astana.
“We welcome Italy’s plans to continue increasing exports to Kazakhstan. Over the last 20 years, Italy has invested $7.5 billion in our economy. There are 250 Italian companies operating in the Kazakh market,” said the Kazakh leader during the meeting.
Ahead of Mattarella’s visit, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reported that trade between the two nations was $20 billion in 2024.
According to Tokayev, the main areas of future cooperation between the two countries are mineral extraction, the petrochemical industry, the automotive industry, transport, logistics, light industry, the food industry, artificial intelligence, tourism, and education.
He highlighted the “Central Asia-Italy” cooperation format launched last May as a way to achieve the objectives.
Tokayev took the opportunity to inform Mattarella that one of the streets in the Kazakh capital is to be renamed in honor of the Italian merchant and explorer Marco Polo.
In turn, the Italian president thanked Tokayev for this initiative and announced that his country will open a cultural center in Astana, the first in Central Asia.
During the visit, Mattarella presented Tokayev with the Italian Republic’s Order of Merit, while the Kazakh leader honored his counterpart with the Order of Friendship, First Class. EFE
