"We are pleased to be one of France's main trade, economic and investment partners in Central Asia. Today, Kazakhstan accounts for more than 80% of France's trade with the region. This year, bilateral trade has increased by 45%. We expect this trend to continue. Direct French investment also grew up by 15%, reaching a record high of almost $900 million. Currently, more than 200 French companies operate in the Kazakhstan market, including such well-known companies as Total, Alstom, Orano, Danone, Vicat, Airbus,” said President Tokayev.
The head of state told the participants about Kazakhstan’s ambitious goals to transform the economy. To achieve these goals, large-scale political and economic reforms are being implemented in accordance with international standards and OECD principles.
“Energy has always been a key sector of our cooperation. As a major supplier of oil and uranium to the European Union, Astana is ready to continue supporting France’s energy sovereignty. We expect the French industry to become more active in Kazakhstan, which we associate with the introduction of advanced technologies in our production sector. Considering that our country is the largest uranium producer in the world, and France has extensive experience in the nuclear industry, we could cooperate in civil nuclear energy,” said Tokayev.
The President reported that Kazakhstan became the first state in the region to ratify the Paris Agreement and commit to achieving zero emissions by 2060. According to him, the number of large international companies interested in implementing large-scale projects in the field of wind, solar and hydropower in our country has increased. In particular, Total Energies plans to build a wind power plant with a capacity of one gigawatt with investments of $1.1 billion.
Photo source: picture from an open source