Turkey–Kazakhstan investment push

Turkey and Kazakhstan used an April 15 meeting in Astana to push new investment and trade projects, with energy, logistics and industry at the center. (dailysabah.com) Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov co-chaired the 14th meeting of the Joint Economic Commission and signed a protocol after one-on-one and delegation talks in Astana. (reutersconnect.com) Bektenov said Turkish investment in Kazakhstan has topped $6 billion over the past two decades, and Yılmaz said Ankara wants to deepen economic cooperation “in all areas.” (astanatimes.com) The fresh push follows a busy stretch in the relationship. In July 2025, Kazakhstan and Turkey signed commercial agreements worth more than $490 million during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to Ankara. (trend.az) Trade has already been climbing. The Astana Times reported bilateral trade reached $5 billion in 2024, while Tokayev said about 4,000 Turkish companies operate in Kazakhstan. (astanatimes.com) Energy is one of the clearest targets for the new talks. Kazakh and Turkish officials discussed joint oil and gas projects, geological exploration and cooperation between KazMunayGas and Turkish Petroleum Corporation. (trend.az) Kazakhstan is also pitching itself as a transit and production base for Turkish firms. At the Astana business roundtable, officials and companies discussed projects in finance, industry, construction, transport and logistics, and energy. (invest.gov.kz) That fits a broader strategy on both sides. Kazakhstan has been trying to attract more foreign capital and diversify routes for exports, while Turkey has been building commercial links across Central Asia through business councils and state-backed diplomacy. (invest.gov.kz 1) (invest.gov.kz 2) For now, the headline is continuity with more scale: a $6 billion investment base, new protocols in Astana, and another round of sector-by-sector dealmaking between Ankara and Astana. (qazinform.com)