Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov held a meeting with the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Bandar Al-Khorayef, who arrived to participate in the Astana Mining & Metallurgy 2026 congress.

Saudi Arabia is among Kazakhstan’s key trade and economic partners in the Middle East. It was noted that thanks to the mutual support of the leaders of Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia, trusting and friendly relations have been established.

In 2025, the volume of mutual trade between the two countries increased by 17% and reached $11.7 million. In January–April of this year, trade turnover grew 2.9 times, exceeding $6.1 million. Over the past 20 years, the volume of direct foreign investments from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into the Republic of Kazakhstan amounted to $115.3 million. The Agreement on the Establishment of the Kazakhstan-Saudi Coordination Council and the Agreement on Mutual Encouragement and Protection of Investments signed in February this year open additional opportunities for the implementation of new joint initiatives.

Attention was paid to issues of further cooperation in the mining and metallurgical complex, as well as prospects for implementing joint projects in the field of critical minerals. Interaction in the areas of exploration, extraction, and processing of minerals, as well as the development of high value-added production, was discussed.

The participants of the meeting confirmed their readiness to increase bilateral cooperation in the mining and metallurgical industry and the field of critical minerals.

#Olzhas Bektenov #Investments #Trade and economic cooperation

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