Information about the partnership
Kazakhstan offers German companies significant opportunities for collaboration, due to its abundant raw material reserves — particularly oil, natural gas, and minerals — as well as its steadily expanding agricultural sector and growing focus on renewable energy sources. Partnering in Business with Germany supports Kazakh companies in initiating business with German SMEs by facilitating targeted B2B networking and promoting long-term partnerships. As Germany’s largest trading partner in Central Asia, the Republic of Kazakhstan provides a wide range of opportunities for direct exports, local production, and joint ventures.
Focus Areas and Cooperation Potentials of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan has numerous ambitious programmes to actively drive forward the diversification of its economic portfolio. It is working to mitigate the impact of climate change under its goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. It is fostering digitisation (in particular digital financial solutions and fintech), energy efficiency and sustainability. In addition, it is seeking to quickly make the transition from a raw materials-based to a manufacturing economy. To achieve this goal, the government of Kazakhstan is relying on solutions and products from Germany. The most important products exported by German companies to Kazakhstan are machinery, chemicals, motorised vehicles and motorised vehicle components, electronics and electrical equipment. Germany imports mainly oil, metals and chemicals from Kazakhstan. Given the geopolitical situation, numerous German companies have already moved their business from Russia to Kazakhstan. Others could follow, so the search for local partners in Kazakhstan continues.
Business in Kazakhstan – Opportunities for German Companies
Kazakhstan’s economy is diverse, comprising a variety of sectors. Agriculture plays an important role in this. The country’s fertile soils and the use of modern irrigation technology counteracts water scarcity, making it an important producer of agricultural products. The modernisation of Kazakhstan’s agriculture offers potential opportunities for German companies, particularly in the areas of agricultural technology, mechanical engineering, and sustainable agricultural practices.
Kazakhstan is a major player in international trade, focusing primarily on exporting raw materials such as oil, gas and minerals. Conversely, the country imports a wide range of goods, including machinery, vehicles and chemical products. This creates opportunities for German companies to introduce their products and technologies to the Kazakh market and benefit from the growing demand for imports.
The abundance of raw materials, strategic location between East and West, and developing logistics infrastructure make Kazakhstan an important hub for the flow of goods. The desired structural change aims to expand the processing industry to reduce dependence on oil. The energy transition is becoming increasingly important: Kazakhstan plans to achieve climate neutrality by 2060, focusing on expanding renewable energies such as wind, solar and hydropower. The intention is also to produce green hydrogen for domestic and foreign use.
Industry Focus and Participant Profiles
Partnering in Business with Germany is open to executives from all sectors. In light of the Kazakh government’s goal to achieve climate neutrality by 2060, the largest group of executives and companies taking part in the programme come from the renewable energy sector. Other sectors include the green economy, agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing and raw materials. Going forward, recycling will take on a more important role, especially the recycling of raw materials.
Networking activities among the alumni of the programme are becoming increasingly transnational, spanning all of Central Asia. Former participants of the programme frequently become business and cooperation partners.
News
Turning a company visit into long-term cooperation: German engineers to use associated petroleum gas (APG) in Kazakhstan
Around the world, APG, a by-product of the extraction of petroleum and natural gas, is burned off by flare stacks, as using it often seems economically unviable or poses technical difficulties. However, German Wankel engines might soon change this for Kazakhstan. A group of Kazakhstani entrepreneurs focused on green technology visited the German company to talk about development projects in the APG sector – talks which proved successful on both sides.
"Our German-Kazakh cooperation is helping to achieve the climate goals."
German-Kazakh business cooperation on renewable energy: Martina Römmelt-Fella, CEO of DIVE Turbinen GmbH & Co. KG, and Kyzzhibek Ryszhanova, Deputy Director of KelesHydroStroy in Kazakhstan, are stepping up the energy transition in Central Asia with the help of hydropower turbines.
15 years of Partnering in Business with Germany with Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is a promising growth market in Central Asia. German companies are therefore increasingly keen to benefit from the region’s growth potential and are using Kazakhstan as an entry market into the region. The fifth German-Kazakh steering committee took place in the capital Astana on 19 August to mark the 15th anniversary of the Partnering in Business with Germany programme with the Republic of Kazakhstan.
