On December 12, 2024, a meeting was held in Astana, chaired by First Vice Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Aizhan Bizhanova, dedicated to summarizing and planning further steps within the framework of the Sustainable Infrastructure in Asia (SIPA) program in Kazakhstan. The event confirmed the successful cooperation between Kazakhstan and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the field of sustainable development.
The discussion was attended by Jurgen Keinhorst and Yvonne Lindenlaub, representatives of the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) for Central Asia; Pelin Atamer, Head of the SIPA program, and Matthew Griffiths, Senior Program Manager (Nexus) from the OECD; as well as Nurlan Kulbatyrov, First Deputy General Director of JSC "Center for Trade Policy Development "QazTrade"
In her speech, First Vice Minister Aizhanbizhanova noted that the achieved results of the SIPA program were made possible thanks to the support of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, emphasizing its commitment to the principles of sustainable development. She expressed gratitude to the OECD for the effective coordination of the SIPA project and focused on the active participation of the Ministry of Trade and Integration in initiatives aimed at decarbonizing trade, diversifying exports and integrating Kazakhstani enterprises into sustainable and low-carbon global value chains.
Recently, there has been a positive trend in the foreign trade balance between Kazakhstan and the European Union. By the end of last year, the trade turnover reached 41.5 billion US dollars, an increase of 3.5%. And this year, in 10 months, the growth rate has already reached 21% (41.2 billion). Moreover, it is encouraging that exports of both raw materials and non-primary goods are growing. Of the 15 main trading partners, half are EU countries. These are Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands, etc.
Our trade turnover with Germany has increased significantly. In terms of processed goods, Germany is among the top 5 of our main trading partners.
Special attention was paid to the development of the Middle Corridor, which opens up significant prospects for strengthening economic ties with European partners. The partnership with the Federal Republic of Germany in the field of development of critical raw materials, initiated during the visit of the Federal Chancellor to Kazakhstan in September, was recognized as an important step forward.
The meeting also discussed the implementation of the European Union's Border Carbon Correction Mechanism (CBAM), which represents both a challenge and an opportunity for Kazakhstan's key export industries, including steel and aluminum production. Kazakhstan has confirmed its commitment to addressing this challenge and its intention to use it to transition the economy to a sustainable development path consistent with climate goals.
The Ministry of Trade and Integration will continue to actively raise awareness with exporters, especially in the context of the introduction of a Border Carbon Correction Mechanism, but this must be balanced, taking into account economic expediency.
And we are waiting for proposals from Western partners on preferential loans or other incentive programs for our industrial groups switching to green technologies.
First Vice Minister Aizhan Bizhanova expressed gratitude to the OECD for the guidance on best practices and international experience for industrial exporters developed jointly with QazTrade JSC.
She also noted the participation of the OECD and the SIPA program in the COP29 parallel event in Baku dedicated to the decarbonization of global value chains, organized by the Ministry of Trade and Integration together with QazTrade JSC, and highly appreciated the support of the OECD in this direction.
Following the meeting, the parties agreed to continue close cooperation to achieve common goals in the field of sustainable development and decarbonization of the economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Background information:
The Sustainable Infrastructure in Asia (SIPA) program aims to support the countries of Central and South-East Asia in ensuring investments in energy, transport and industrial infrastructure that meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mti/press/news/details/903201