Last year, during the "Central Asia - Italy" summit, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, received a proposal to open an Italian trade house in Almaty. Today, February 20, 2026, in fulfillment of the President's instruction, the grand opening of the Kazakhstan-Italy Trade House took place in Almaty. The new center will become a platform for developing trade, economic, and investment cooperation between Kazakhstan and Italy.

The opening ceremony was conducted by the Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Arman Shakkaliyev. The event was also attended by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Edmondo Cirelli, the Deputy Minister for the Made in Italy program, Valentino Valentini, the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Italy, Yerbolat Sembayev, and the Ambassador of Italy to Kazakhstan, Antonello Di Riu.

Arman Shakkaliyev noted that Kazakhstan and Italy have strong partnership relations in trade, investment, and industry. Italy remains one of the country's key partners in Europe. The trade house will become a working platform for companies. Here, entrepreneurs will be able to receive consultations, seek partners, participate in joint projects, and exchange experiences.

The trade house will support exports and investments. It will help enterprises establish joint ventures and industrial projects. Here, production cooperation and technology exchange can be arranged. The center will contribute to promoting products with the Made in Italy label and developing Kazakhstan's non-commodity exports.
The trade house's infrastructure includes facilities for business meetings, negotiations, conferences, and presentations. Digital solutions for online interaction and hybrid events will operate here. To support business, information points of Kazakhstan's development institutions will be located on the premises. They will provide up-to-date information on cooperation opportunities and state support measures.

Arman Shakkaliyev emphasized that the trade house will help turn business dialogue into concrete results. It will become a center for interaction between government bodies and businesses, simplify access to projects and investments, and create new opportunities for developing trade ties and attracting investments.

Mutual trade between Kazakhstan and Italy in 2025 amounted to 16.9 billion US dollars. The main export goods from Kazakhstan to Italy were crude oil, unwrought aluminum, wheat, ferroalloys, hard coal, dried leguminous vegetables, and propylene polymers.

Imports to Kazakhstan from Italy in 2025 amounted to 1.28 billion dollars. The main import goods were medicinal products, pipeline fittings, tubes and profiles of ferrous metals, heat treatment equipment, other food products, jewelry, and vaccines.