Doha, February 13 (QNA) - HE Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the State of Qatar Arman Issagaliyev stressed that the visit of HE the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Doha emphasizes his country's desire to develop an extensive partnership and enhance bilateral relations between the two countries.
Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), HE the Ambassador said that the agenda of the visit includes discussions on cooperation issues in international organizations such as the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia. The visit also places significant importance on food security within the framework of the Islamic Organization for Food Security.
He added that HE President Tokayev will hold bilateral talks with HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and will meet with heads of major companies in the State of Qatar interested in investing in Kazakhstan. Additionally, agreements and MoUs will be signed between the two governments.
HE the Ambassador considered the first state visit of HE the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Qatar a historic event that will elevate bilateral cooperation to an entirely new level.
He pointed out that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Qatar in 1993, Astana has consistently worked to develop mutually beneficial cooperation with Doha in various fields, as Qatar is currently a highly important and reliable partner for Kazakhstan in the Middle East, and bilateral cooperation is characterized by active communication between the leaderships of both countries.
He emphasized the importance of mutual visits between the two countries, noting that in the past year, the leaders of both countries met three times at international events. "In June last year HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani visited Kazakhstan on a working visit and took part in the Astana International Forum as an honorary guest, and he also made an official visit to Kazakhstan in October 2022," said HE the Ambassador.
He explained that during these visits, there was a mutual commitment to expanding dialogue, intensifying trade and economic ties, and enhancing cultural and humanitarian interaction, adding that both countries expressed mutual intent to develop a strategic partnership, indicating that "the fact that the leaders of the two countries meet so often demonstrates the presence of a mutual desire to increase multi-format cooperation" across the entire spectrum of bilateral relations.
The key focus is on cooperation in the investment field, where several promising projects are already underway in areas such as energy and agriculture.
His Excellency stressed that there are untapped potentials in bilateral trade despite the continuous positive dynamics, noting that the leaders of both countries intend to set specific tasks for their governments to promote goods and services in each other's markets.
He pointed out that special attention will be paid to investment projects in Kazakhstan, one of which is the construction of "a grain processing plant in Astana", the implementation of which "will make an important contribution to food security in both countries." The project will increase the export potential of Kazakhstan, as the plant's main products, mainly consist of wheat gluten and vegetable protein, which will be exported to the Middle East, Europe, and the United States of America.
He also spoke about cooperation in the gas processing and gas chemistry sectors, which have significant prospects, saying that "negotiations are underway with Kazakhstan on the construction of a gas processing plant, main gas pipelines, as well as on investment partnerships in the field of finance and telecommunications, as well as on the possibilities of implementing specific projects in the mining industry and alternative energy, as promising areas".
In light of the wide-ranging reforms initiated by HE the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, HE the Ambassador noted the growing interest of Qatari investors in other important economic sectors, such as healthcare, as the Qatari company Elegancia Healthcare plans to build a multi-functional medical center in Astana, leveraging Qatari expertise and the latest technologies.
He also pointed to the maternity hospital project in the Almaty region with a capacity of 125 beds, which is funded by the Qatar Fund for Development.
He said that these projects and long-term plans for economic cooperation have already been discussed at a high level by the former Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alihan Smaiylov and HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani. It is expected that the implementation of these projects will commence in the near future based on the results of negotiations between the leaders of the two countries.
The Ambassador stressed that HE the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will participate in the roundtable for investments between Kazakhstan and Qatar during his visit. He will also hold separate meetings with the heads of major Qatari companies to discuss important investment projects.
He spoke about the promising future of relations between the two countries, emphasizing the importance and effectiveness of the Kazakh-Qatar joint high-level intergovernmental commission, which held its 6th meeting last year.
The Ambassador also highlighted the significance of cultural and humanitarian interaction as a fundamental element in bilateral relations, noting the launch of the Qatar National Museum's audio guide in the Kazakh language, a project implemented by the Kazakh Embassy in collaboration with Kazakh students studying in Doha.
This project is a significant contribution to cultural cooperation between the two countries, promoting the Kazakh language internationally.
He also discussed the importance of tourism exchange between the two nations, noting a significant increase in Qatar citizens' interest in traveling to Kazakhstan, with official figures indicating that the number of Qatari tourists has doubled in one year, as the number increased from 553 Qatari visitors in 2022 to approximately a 1,000 visitor in 2023.
The Ambassador mentioned that the Kazakh Embassy in Qatar provides comprehensive support to enhance tourism potential in Kazakhstan through social media, media outlets, and tourism exhibitions in Doha, while several Qatari companies organize tours to Kazakhstan, leading to a rapid increase in the number of Qatari tourists, especially with the current visa exemption system for both Qatari and Kazakh citizens.
He added that as a result of that, a significant increase was recorded in the number of tourists from Kazakhstan last year. "According to official statistics, about 40,000 Kazakhstanis visited Doha in 2023.
In 2022, their number was only 15,000," His Excellency said, ascribing the progress to Qatar Airways' increasing the number of its direct weekly flights on the Almaty-Doha route and the Kazakh airlines Air Astana and FlyArystan operating chartered flights to Doha every week from five cities, including Astana, Almaty, Shymkent, Aktau, and Aktobe.
"This is facilitated by an increase in the number of direct flights; new routes will be launched this year. Today, there are 14 regular direct flights a week between Doha and Almaty, as well as charter flights from five cities in Kazakhstan. In addition, our citizens are exempt from visas for up to 30 days," His Excellency said.
He stressed that Kazakhstan and Qatar intend to continue cooperation in this field, as consideration will be taken to increasing the number of flights, including opening direct flights on the Astana-Doha route this year.
HE the Ambassador stressed that Kazakh-Qatari cooperation is developing rapidly, which can be seen by the intensification of mutual contacts and visits between heads of departments and companies in both countries, adding that very fruitful negotiations took place on science, higher education, defense, medicine, agriculture, sports, culture, trade, and investment.
He said that in order to coordinate joint efforts and review the agreements reached, the second round of political consultations was held last December at the level of assistant foreign ministers of the two countries.
He added that the past year was marked by many important events that contributed to expanding cooperation between Kazakhstan and Qatar, as tangible results were achieved in implementing investment projects, increasing the volume of mutual trade, and intensifying cultural and humanitarian ties.
At the conclusion of his statement to QNA, HE Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the State of Qatar Arman Issagaliyev stressed that developing strategic partnerships with friendly countries will always occupy a priority place in Kazakhstans foreign policy strategy, adding that the mutual desire and willingness to increase multifaceted cooperation is what will unlock the full potential of bilateral relations, and the practical implementation of agreements will become a significant contribution to the economic trajectory of Kazakhstan. (QNA)