Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev and the businessmen accompanying him met with Turkish businessmen with TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu as host.

Reporting that the railroad to be constructed between Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan will bind the two countries closer in the economic sense, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that they are following Kazakhstan’s development program closely.

Stating that they want to increase the bilateral trade volume of the two countries to 5 billion Dollars in the short term and 10 billion Dollars in the mid term, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that ATAMEKEN and TOBB will work together.

Hisarcıklıoğlu said that they want to undertake a project in cooperation for the development of the private sector in Kazakhstan, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the strength of the Turkish business community lies in having a strong private sector.

- TOBB’s industrial zone report to Nazarbayev

Emphasizing that the Turkish private sector has a great part in Turkey’s development, Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that the private sector’s investments in Turkey have reached 150 billion Dollars as of last year and 1.3 million people have been employed by the private sector.

Stating that they are prepared to share their experiences with ATAMEKEN in order to make it as strong as TOBB, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We want a partnership on equal strength as soon as possible.”

The TOBB President also presented Nazarbayev the report they prepared regarding industrial zones.

- Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev

Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, saying that he visits Turkey every year but that this is his 5th visit in the official capacity, stated that relations between Turkey and Kazakhstan are progressing on the highest level.

Stating that the trade between the two countries has shown progress in recent years, Nazarbayev said, “The bilateral trade between the two countries has increased by 80%. As of the end of last year it has reached 3.5 billion Dollars. We have observed a 50% increase in the first half of this year, reaching 2.5 billion Dollars. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wants to increase trade volume to 10 billion Dollars as per our joint goal.”

Nazarbayev stated that despite the global crisis, Kazakhstan has maintained its growth with a growth figure of 7.5% last year and 6% this year, while inflation has not surpassed 5%.

Reporting that Kazakhstan has produced nearly 80 million tons of petroleum and 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas last year, Nazarbayev said, “If the Kashagan petroleum fields enter operation this year, one of the largest in the world, we will produce an additional 20 million tons of petroleum.”
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