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Bilateral trade between Russia and Kazakhstan is growing faster than expected, and the two countries stand a strong chance of hitting their US$30 billion annual target well before the 2030 deadline, according to Deputy Economic Development Minister Vladimir Ilichev. He was speaking at the Russia-Kazakhstan interregional cooperation forum in Omsk on Friday (July 24).
Ilichev said that “trade has been developing well. Our turnover grew more than 15% in January-May, exceeding US$12 billion. At this pace, we hope the US$30 billion target will be reached much earlier than planned.”
He added that the structure of trade has diversified, covering not just minerals but also food, consumer goods, and machinery, noting that investment cooperation is expanding, with plans to launch a separate Eurasian fund this year that will finance large and medium-scale projects at preferential rates.
The two countries regularly exchange business missions, with about 50 bilateral events held in the first half of 2026, Ilichev said.
Kazakhstan’s foreign trade in January-May reached US$56.35 billion, up 4.3% year-on-year. Russia accounts for 8.8% of Kazakhstan’s exports and 31.6% of its imports.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, discussing trade with Russian President Putin in Astana in May, said trade would soon cross the “landmark figure of $30 billion.” The two countries are also implementing 177 joint venture projects with investments worth US$53 billion. Bilateral trade between Russia and Kazakhstan exceeded US$28 billion in 2025.
The leading items in Kazakhstan’s exports to Russia are metals and metal products (in particular, sheet metal and ferroalloys), machinery, equipment, vehicles, instruments, and chemical products (natural uranium and alumina). Other key export categories include agro‑industrial products and fuel (primarily coal and natural gas).
Russia supplies Kazakhstan with agro‑industrial products (including chocolate products, sugar, and flour‑based confectionery), chemical products (enriched uranium, polyethylene, and detergents); fuel (mainly natural gas, petroleum products, and electricity), engineering products (passenger cars, cable products, and automotive components), metals and metal products; textiles and textile goods, as well as timber and wood products.
