Today, on October 11, Minister of Industry and Construction of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kanat Sharlapayev arrived in Berlin.
Kazakhstan and Germany have a long history of fruitful cooperation. For example, the trade turnover between the two countries last year amounted to 3.8 billion US dollars, which is 36.6% more than in the same period in 2022. In particular, Kazakhstan's exports to Germany increased by 39.6%, and imports by 35.9%.
Kanat Sharlapaev took part in the 8th Raw Materials Congress, where he watched the expositions and listened to the speeches of the participating speakers, as well as participated in the panel session "Raw materials security – milestones, challenges and next steps".
Further, the Minister spoke at the panel session "New partners for more resilient supply chains", where he stressed that for many years Kazakhstan has been a reliable energy partner for Europe and Germany,
In the near future, the Republic is ready to transform into a reliable supplier of critical metals in order to achieve common goals of decarbonization of the global economy.
"We believe that our country has all the necessary prerequisites for creating sustainable supply chains, including a diversified mineral resource base, critical infrastructure, human capital and high competence, as well as a developed Midstream industry," he said.
During the working trip, Kanat Sharlapayev held a number of meetings in order to establish long-term cooperation. Thus, the Minister met with Christian Forvik, Director of Foreign Economic Policy at the Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection of Germany, Co-Chairman of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Trade and Economic Cooperation.
During the discussions, the parties stressed that bilateral cooperation has prospects for further development of trade and economic partnership and this is confirmed by impressive achievements in various industries.
Then a meeting was held with Thoralf Haag, CEO of Aurubis AG. Aurubis AG is one of the world's largest copper producers and a leader in the processing of various metals. The company processes precious metals such as gold and silver, as well as nickel, tin, lead and others. Recycling operations focus on the extraction of valuable metals from industrial waste, electronic scrap and other complex materials.
Next, Kanat Sharlapaev listened to the report of Peter Buchholz, director of the German Raw Materials Agency DERA, "Monitoring commodity markets in real time – recognizing risks related to prices and supplies at an early stage." After that, the Minister met with the speaker himself, Peter Buchholz.
Among the main tasks of the agency is to provide information and consulting services on the possibilities of access to foreign markets of mineral and raw materials resources. DERA regularly analyzes and evaluates international commodity markets. The data obtained is used in the provision of information and consulting services. With the help of targeted research and pilot projects, the risks associated with price and delivery, as well as new opportunities for the use of mineral raw materials, are identified.
Kanat Sharlapaev also took part in the panel session "Money for Mining – How do we finance the supply of raw materials?".
The Minister also met with Michael Hartz, CEO of the company "Freiberger Compound Materials GmbH". It is one of the world's leading manufacturers of composite semiconductor substrates for microelectronics and optoelectronics. The company manufactures them from gallium arsenide (GaAs) for micro and optoelectronic applications and has gained an excellent reputation as a manufacturer of extremely flat, ultra-pure wafers.
At the end of the trip, the Minister held a meeting with Wolfgang Niedermark, a member of the Board of the Federal Union of German Industry. The parties discussed the possibilities and prospects of joint cooperation in the field of industry.
The Union of German Industry (BDI) unites 40 industry associations and more than 100,000 companies employing about 8 million employees. The BDI is responsible for representing and promoting the interests of all industries united under its auspices. He also lobbies for the interests of industrially active companies around the world and participates in all economically significant legislative processes.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mps/press/news/details/881197