Alberto Rubio
“Spain is among Kazakhstan’s top ten trading partners in the European Union, and I hope that in future events I will be able to say that it is already among the top five,” said Ambassador Danat Mussayev at a reception to commemorate the Day of the Republic.
Kazakhstan declared its sovereignty as a republic within the Soviet Union on October 25, 1990 and its independence as a state on December 16 of the following year, after the coup d’état that ended up disintegrating the USSR.
In these 32 years, Mussayev summarized, “Kazakhstan increased its GDP from 1,500 to 13,000 dollars”, in addition to becoming the leader in foreign investment in the post-Soviet space and “a respected partner on the international scene”, thanks, among other reasons, to its “peaceful and constructive foreign policy”.
The ambassador, however, assured that his government is not satisfied with the fact that it is currently the commercial bridge through which 83% of the land traffic between China and the European Union passes, nor with the “excellent” figures of foreign investment flows to his country.
Among the guests at the reception, the State Secretary for Trade, Xiana Méndez, provided figures that demonstrate the “special” Spanish-Kazakh relationship: in 2022 Spanish exports grew by 74% and Kazakh exports by 78%. For this reason, she stressed her wish that the Kazakh ambassador’s prediction will come true and that Spain will climb to fifth place in its trade relations with the Central Asian country.
Both countries maintain a very dynamic institutional relationship through the Intergovernmental Council, which was held in May in Astana in parallel to the Business Council.
Méndez confirmed that Spain will continue to promote investments in Kazakhstan, “which “is a key country, both for the EU and for Spain, as it is the first economy of Central Asia, a country rich in raw materials and one of the largest exporters of quality wheat, which in the current context gives it a special strategic relevance”.
Danat Mussayev thanked, in this regard, that Spain “has given priority to the effort of cooperation with the countries of Central Asia”, during its presidency of the European Union. Xiana Méndez added that, “although the EU has an enhanced cooperation agreement with Kazakhstan, it wants to take this relationship to the next level”.
The reception was attended, in addition to the Secretary of State for Trade, by Spanish senators and deputies, civilian and military authorities and numerous ambassadors accredited in Spain.
