BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 2. Kazakhstan’s trade representation in Russia will be shut down, Trend reports, citing the press service of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan.
The trade representation will cease its operations because the existing institutional framework enables Kazakh businesses to work efficiently in Russia. Thus no need for a separate trade representation.
Shutting down the trade representation will also allow the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assign additional diplomats to other directions and countries.
The Ministry of Trade and Integration notes that shutting down the trade representation will not lead to the denunciation of the “Agreement between Kazakhstan and Russia about the mutual organization of the trade missions of October 22, 1992” and the bilateral development of trade relations will be unaffected.
Further work on trade and economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia will be continued through the partner network of “QazTrade” JSC, present in all major cities and regions of Russia.
Russia remains Kazakhstan’s largest trade partner. Currently, around 8,000 companies with Russian participation operate in Kazakhstan, in addition to some 3,348 joint ventures.
Previously, it was revealed that trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Russia from January through November 2022 amounted to $23.6 billion, which is an increase of 6.8 percent in year-on-year terms. Trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Russia in 2021 reached $24.6 billion, which constitutes a significant increase of 31.2 percent compared to 2020.