Русский
The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has met with the Kazakhstan President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in Bishkek on Monday (August 31). They had previously met in Kazakhstan on Putin’s State visit to the country in May, meaning relations are right up to date.
This is what Putin had to say:
“Mr Tokayev, I am delighted to meet with you, this time during events associated with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. I would like to congratulate you once again, this time personally, on the outcomes of the recent elections to the country’s parliament, the Kurultai. I would like to mention the high voter turnout and, which is most important, the voting results that confirm public support for the course, charted under your leadership, towards the further development of Kazakhstan, stronger internal political stability and economic progress as the basis for addressing a broad range of issues related to social development and improving people’s living standards. That is what the people have voted for.
Our bilateral relations are actively developing in nearly all spheres. Last year, we reported good trade turnover results, and they have further grown this year. Overall, this is a good result.
We are working on a broad range of issues. Our agenda includes both large projects and current issues. I am confident that these projects and issues are not only addressable but are actually being addressed, with our intergovernmental commissions working actively. I believe that we should thank our colleagues for being this active and for implementing all our agreements.
It is especially gratifying that our humanitarian contacts are growing stronger. As many as 60,000 young people from Kazakhstan are studying in Russian universities. A branch of Kazakhstan’s leading university has recently opened in Omsk. In other words, our relationship is a two-way street in almost every aspect.”
This was Tokayev’s reply:
“Mr Putin, let me begin by thanking you for your positive feedback regarding my proposal, my request to have a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Thank you for your congratulations on completing the cycle to elect a new parliament. We have done a great deal over the past year to introduce our country’s new constitutional framework. If it can be put this way, we adopted a new Constitution, and parliamentary elections were held. For the first time in our history, we elected a unicameral parliament, the Kurultai. Just as you have noted, the election took place in full conformity with all the existing norms and standards and received positive feedback because the voting was organised quite well.
However, it is not time for us to be complacent. There is a famous oriental saying stating that the end of one process marks the beginning of another one. Therefore, the effort to modernise Kazakhstan will carry on in keeping with its national interests, since carrying out reforms just for the sake of reforms is not an option, and we understand this. The interests of our people must come first in terms of improving their well-being.
As for bilateral cooperation, I believe that your visit to Astana in May of this year, and this was a state visit, was an all-round success by its very nature. In fact, it was a historical visit. Today, the Government is working on fulfilling all the agreements that were signed during the visit. You were right to note that trade has been expanding and exceeding expectations. It increased compared to last year, and I believe that Russia is set to remain our main investment and trade partner. I fully support this process since it meets the interests of our people. I also believe that it meets Russia’s interests, which makes it a reciprocal process.
I share what you said about promoting humanitarian contacts. This is instrumental since we cannot allow our countries to have any dividing lines in this domain. These contacts and the cooperation framework have been shaped over many years, if not centuries. There have never been any conflicts between the people of Kazakhstan and Russia in the past on religious grounds or based on any political considerations. If there were minor local conflicts, as they say, they boiled down to claiming the right to access rivers and pastureland. These were merely economic disputes.
Of course, the effort to promote cross-border cooperation in Omsk was a major success. I believe that our meeting was very effective in this context, and Kazakhstan is determined to follow this path to the very end, but it remains to be seen whether this effort can ever be completed. We will work with Russia, with the great Russian state by maintaining the same positive momentum and with the same level of sincerity.”
Bilateral Trade
The Omsk event Tokayev referred to was a major interregional forum at which numerous cooperation agreements and commercial contracts, with several regional initiatives also receiving presidential support. More than 400 companies from Russia and Kazakhstan participated in business cooperation activities across transport, logistics, engineering, agriculture, energy, and digital industries. Over 200 business meetings were held, resulting in the signing of 23 cooperation agreements worth ₽65 billion (US$833 million) and the formation of more than 40 potential customer-supplier partnerships.
In overall terms, Russia-Kazakh bilateral trade reached about US$27.4 billion in 2025, marking a slight nominal decrease of about 2.7% compared to 2024 figures. That was mainly due to supply chain disruptions and regional supply chain adjustments. That has now been corrected, with 15% growth being recorded in 5M 2026. If maintained, bilateral trade will reach some US$31.5 billion and will have reached the targeted goal of US$30 billion in trade the two Presidents had set to be achieved by 2030. This has been driven by improving regional cooperation and expanded transport and energy integration.
Kazakhstan exports metals, ferroalloys, machinery, and chemical products like natural uranium to Russia, while Russia supplies Kazakhstan with agricultural items, engineering products, vehicles, and energy resources. Both countries are actively implementing 177 joint industrial, energy, and infrastructure projects valued at roughly US$53 billion.
Russian investments in Kazakhstan’s economy have also reached nearly US$30 billion, comprising of over 22,600 companies with Russian capital operating in Kazakhstan, making up nearly one-third of all foreign-capital enterprises in the country, and meaning Russia is Kazakhstan leading source of foreign direct investment. Much of this has been driven by the sanctions on Russia, with Russian companies making products in Kazakhstan to avoid these, as well as logistics and trade businesses operating in the Russia-China arena and facilitating and growing trade between these two countries via Kazakhstan as an intermediary.
