00:00The Russian war against Ukraine will go down in history as an event that forced Europe to realign its political
00:06compass and strengthen its international partnerships.
00:10One of these partners is Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, about 10 hours by plane from Brussels.
00:17Rich in natural resources and energy, the country is gaining in economic and political influence and is offering a lot
00:24of opportunities to European investors.
00:26Now, Kazakhstan's president, Kasim Jomar Tokayev, is in Brussels for a two-day visit.
00:33Earlier, I spoke to the head of Kazakhstan's mission to the EU, Roman Vassilenko, and I asked him about Tokayev's
00:40message to Europe.
00:42His message is that we have done a lot, but we can do much more.
00:47Kazakhstan already is one of the largest suppliers of energy to Europe.
00:51It's the third largest supplier of crude to the European Union.
00:54Kazakhstan is also a major partner for the critical raw materials development in the future.
01:01And Kazakhstan, a country that develops AI, is also a partner in AI development.
01:06But on a political level, his message is that the European Union is important for Kazakhstan as one of the
01:13key strategic partners for our country globally.
01:16We are in the heart of Eurasia, we both Russia, we both China, but we would like very much to
01:22strengthen our mutually beneficial ties with the European Union.
01:27Speaking about these ties, trade between Kazakhstan and the EU has grown substantially in recent years, and Kazakhstan has attracted
01:37significant European investment.
01:39Now, which sectors beyond energy offer the biggest untapped opportunities for EU investors?
01:47Indeed. Kazakhstan now attracted 210 billion US dollars from the European companies, and mostly in energy.
01:58I grant you that. But the most promising in the future, and already now, are investments in trade, I'm sorry,
02:06in transport and logistics, in critical raw materials, in AI, in green hydrogen, and in green energy generally, as well
02:16as in finance.
02:17Because we've built Astana International Financial Center, which already is home to 5,800 companies from around the world.
02:28You mentioned it, Kazakhstan possesses significant reserves of rare earths and other critical minerals.
02:35How can Europe make the most of these critical mineral supplies, and what does Kazakhstan offer?
02:42Well, Kazakhstan already produces 21 out of 34 critical raw materials that the European Union identifies as such in the
02:51Critical Raw Materials Act.
02:53What we bring to the table is our openness to cooperation on a mutually beneficial basis, and our message is
03:00simple.
03:01You bring investment and technologies, you bring investment and technologies, you not only extract, but process critical raw materials in
03:09Kazakhstan, and we both reap benefits from that.
03:13So, already, one big project in Kazakhstan is identified as a strategic project by the European Commission.
03:19That's a project that, according to Ursula von der Leyen, will be producing 100,000 batteries worth of graphite for
03:29electric vehicles a year, once it's online.
03:32And this is just one example of the many to come.
03:35As you know, Europe is desperate to diversify away from Russian energy dependence.
03:42Is Kazakhstan prepared to become a major long-term energy partner for the EU, or are there limits of what
03:51you can do?
03:52Well, we are already, as I said, one of the three largest suppliers of crude to the European Union.
03:59There are limits, because the limits have to do with the amounts that we can produce domestically, in terms of
04:08oil production, and there are limits in terms of transportation capacities.
04:14But we are working to expand this number.
04:16Already, we supply 65 million tons of oil to the European Union, but it can grow to about 100 million
04:24tons in the next four or five years.
04:26But it's not just about oil.
04:29As I said, it's about hydrogen.
04:31We are about to produce 2 million tons of green hydrogen a year, since 2030, with the help of the
04:39German-Swedish company.
04:41So, we will be supplying other kinds of energy resources to the European Union, and we're keen to remain this
04:50important strategic partner for the European Union in its energy security.
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