OMM Redaksiyası
Kazakhstan and Germany have agreed to expand cooperation in critical minerals, industry, energy and transport. Astana wants Germany to play a more active role in developing supply chains and establishing higher-value manufacturing.
A Joint Declaration was adopted following talks between Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin. The sides also endorsed a 2026–2028 Road Map for the Development of Cooperation in Industry, Technology and Raw Materials.
Joint production of critical minerals
The document identifies the extraction and processing of critical raw materials, joint production, increasing the added value of goods made in Kazakhstan, and creating reliable and sustainable supply chains as key areas of cooperation.
More than 1,400 companies with German participation are currently registered in Kazakhstan. German investment in the country’s economy has reached $8 billion over the past 20 years. German companies including CLAAS Group, Rhenus Logistics, Siemens Energy and Linde operate in the Kazakh market.
Before his meetings in Berlin, Tokayev said in an article published by German business newspaper Handelsblatt that the two countries should move beyond traditional trade ties and create joint production with high added value.
According to the Kazakh president, bilateral trade turnover approached $9 billion, or nearly 7.9 billion euros, in 2025. He said Kazakhstan could supply the German market with more than 80 additional types of processed goods. Metallurgy, petrochemicals, food production and railway engineering were identified as promising sectors.
Kazakhstan turns to higher-value production
Critical minerals are at the center of the cooperation proposal. Kazakhstan produces 21 of the 34 raw materials of strategic importance to the European economy, including lithium, silicon, cobalt, niobium, tungsten and copper.
Tokayev proposed involving German companies not only in extracting these resources but also in processing them and creating complete production chains. The new road map formalizes this approach by making the extraction and processing of critical raw materials, joint production and increasing the added value of goods made in Kazakhstan priorities.
Energy and transport cooperation
Energy remains one of the main areas of cooperation between the two countries. According to Tokayev, Kazakhstan supplies about 13% of the European Union’s oil imports and 20% of its natural uranium imports. Kazakhstan’s oil supplies to Germany exceeded 10 million tons in 2025.
The Joint Declaration provides for stronger cooperation on energy security, diversification of energy supply sources and routes, and the development of oil and gas supplies to Europe.
Transport is another important area, given Kazakhstan’s strategic position between Europe and Asia. Tokayev said about 85% of overland freight transit between China and Europe passes through Kazakhstan.
Freight volumes along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route are also increasing. During the first eight months of the year, freight turnover on the route rose by 22%, while east-west transit increased by 55%.
The Kazakh president said new transport projects could directly connect several regions with Caspian Sea ports and shorten the China-Europe route by about 1,000 kilometers. He also highlighted opportunities for German companies to develop air freight services and aviation hubs via Kazakhstan.
The focus will now be on turning the agreements reflected in the road map into concrete projects. Practical initiatives are expected to be implemented particularly in critical minerals, processing, manufacturing, energy and transport.
