Askar Mamin and Suhail Al Mazrouei witness the agreement signing ceremony at the Expo 2020 on Wednesday. Salah Omer/ Al Khaleej

Sajjad Ahmad, Deputy Business Editor

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin paid an official visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he took part in the events within the framework of the National Day of Kazakhstan at the Expo 2020 Dubai.

The ceremony of raising the national flag of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held at the central square of Expo Al Wasl Plaza in the presence of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin and Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Commissioner-General of Expo 2020 Dubai.

later on, the Head of Government took part in the Kazakhstan Trade and Investment Forum, which brought together about 100 people — representatives of government agencies, business circles, national holdings and development institutions of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates.

“To date, relations between Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates have reached a qualitatively new level. Since 1991, the UAE has invested over $4 billion in the economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. More than 250 companies with the participation of the UAE capital operate in Kazakhstan. Despite the persisting risks in the global economy, cooperation between our countries continues to strengthen,” Mamin said in his speech at the plenary session of the forum.

Mamin noted that the signing of the intergovernmental agreement on the establishment of a long-term strategic partnership for the development of projects in priority sectors of the economy in October of this year was a landmark event in bilateral relations. The document is aimed at implementing projects in the energy, agro-industrial, transport and logistics, pharmaceutical and financial sectors of the national economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan with a total investment of more than $6 billion.

Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the UAE, Magzum Mirzagaliyev, Kazakhstan Minister of Energy, Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State of the UAE, Almasadam Satkaliyev, Chair of the Board of Samruk-Kazyna and others spoke at the plenary session of the forum. Following the forum, an agreement on strategic cooperation was signed between Samruk-Kazyna JSC and the sovereign fund Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, as well as investment documents for the construction of solar and wind power plants in the Republic of Kazakhstan with a total capacity of 4 GW.

Currently, Emirati companies are involved in the implementation of 11 large investment projects in Kazakhstan with a total value of over $3.5 billion.

 During his visit to Dubai, Prime Minister Askar Mamin got acquainted with the digital exhibition of JSC QazTrade Center for the Development of Trade Policy, visited the thematic pavilions of the Expo 2020 Dubai exhibition, and held negotiations with the leadership of leading companies in the UAE.

At the celebration of the National Day of Kazakhstan, a concert was held for the guests of the world exhibition on the territory of the Expo with the participation of the Otyrar Sazy Academic Folk-Ethnographic Orchestra named after Tlendiev, the opera singer Maria Mudryak, the Astana Ballet collective and other artists of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan and the UAE pledged during the forum to significantly increase bilateral trade in what marks a major step forward for commercial relations between the Gulf nation and Central Asia’s largest economy.

The various agreement signed during the forum will benefit different sectors of Kazakhstan economy.

Kazakhstan’s fast-growing meat industry stands to benefit from the enhanced cooperation, with Kazakh beef set to be sold on the Gulf market for the first time.

KazBeef, Kazakhstan’s largest producer of premium marble beef, reached a deal to supply meat to Wisk Foodstuff Trading, one of Dubai’s main suppliers to high-end restaurants and hotels. The deal will see nearly $1.2m of KazBeef products supplied to Wisk clients every year, with the company aiming to enter markets across the Gulf.

Speaking about the development, KazBeef CEO Beibit Yerubayev said: “This deal is a fantastic opportunity to showcase Kazakhstan’s world-class meat products to a new market. The Arabian Gulf, with its increasing demand for high-end food products was an obvious choice to expand the reach of Kazakhstan’s growing food industry. It is yet another step towards ‘Made in Kazakhstan’ becoming a hallmark of quality in the region.”

Wisk Managing Director, Thomas Leroy said “We are very proud of the strong partnership built with Kazbeef. Our partnership will be built on promoting both the outstanding quality of Kazakh beef in the region and Kazakhstan’s outstanding passion and produce. Trade between Kazakhstan and the UAE is currently valued at $670 million per annum, with exports between the countries increasing nearly 40% per annum. Following today’s announcements, the volume of trade in goods and services is expected to significantly increase.