Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Secures $12 Billion in Agreements from Brussels
World
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, during an official visit to Brussels, held a round of high-level negotiations with the EU leadership, including António Costa, Ursula von der Leyen, and European Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. The primary practical outcome of the visit was the signing of a package of commercial agreements and memoranda worth over $12 billion, confirming the transition of both parties from declarative intentions to large-scale industrial cooperation.
Today, EU nations account for nearly half of all foreign direct investment in the Kazakh economy, while mutual trade volume surpassed the $45 billion threshold by the end of 2025.
A prominent focus of the negotiations was dedicated to the transport and logistics agenda, oriented toward expanding the capacity of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (the "Middle Corridor"). Driven by Astana’s infrastructure investments of $35 billion over the past 15 years, cargo traffic along this vector has grown to 4.1 million tons, with a strategic target to reach 10 million tons, where the ports of Aktau and Kuryk operate as pivotal Eurasian hubs. As part of logistics modernization efforts, new agreements totaling nearly $1 billion were signed involving the Development Bank of Kazakhstan and European financial institutions.
Furthermore, Kazakhstan reaffirmed its readiness to cover the European market's deficit in critical raw materials, offering supplies for 21 out of 34 metals listed on the EU's critical raw materials inventory via a framework of long-term off-take contracts. Controlling 40 percent of the global uranium market and supplying nearly 13 percent of the EU's crude oil needs, the republic is concurrently launching projects for lithium and cobalt extraction alongside "green" hydrogen production. Additional incentives for European capital, represented by 4,000 companies in the country, include the AIFC ecosystem, the launch of the innovative city of Alatau, digital infrastructure driven by NVIDIA supercomputers, and integration into the Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe research and educational programs.
A prominent focus of the negotiations was dedicated to the transport and logistics agenda, oriented toward expanding the capacity of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (the "Middle Corridor"). Driven by Astana’s infrastructure investments of $35 billion over the past 15 years, cargo traffic along this vector has grown to 4.1 million tons, with a strategic target to reach 10 million tons, where the ports of Aktau and Kuryk operate as pivotal Eurasian hubs. As part of logistics modernization efforts, new agreements totaling nearly $1 billion were signed involving the Development Bank of Kazakhstan and European financial institutions.
Furthermore, Kazakhstan reaffirmed its readiness to cover the European market's deficit in critical raw materials, offering supplies for 21 out of 34 metals listed on the EU's critical raw materials inventory via a framework of long-term off-take contracts. Controlling 40 percent of the global uranium market and supplying nearly 13 percent of the EU's crude oil needs, the republic is concurrently launching projects for lithium and cobalt extraction alongside "green" hydrogen production. Additional incentives for European capital, represented by 4,000 companies in the country, include the AIFC ecosystem, the launch of the innovative city of Alatau, digital infrastructure driven by NVIDIA supercomputers, and integration into the Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe research and educational programs.
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