ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 20. The countries of the Gulf have invested about $3.6 billion in Kazakhstan over the past 30 years, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said, Trend reports.
He made the remark during the summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Central Asian countries in Jeddah on July 19.
President Tokayev noted the significant progress and the dynamic growth of trade turnover between the Central Asian economies and the Gulf.
However, the digital figures do not yet reflect our true potential. We have all the possibilities to significantly increase mutual trade. To achieve this, we need to diversify the range of mutual trade. For example, Kazakhstan is ready to swiftly increase its exports to the Gulf countries by 100 commodity items with the total worth around $400 million," the president said.
At the same time, according to the UNCTAD report, the inflow of net investments to Central Asia increased by 40 percent last year, reaching $10 billion, of which 60 percent accounts for Kazakhstan, he pointed out.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the event, President Tokayev has met with Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia.
The President noted that Saudi Arabia is a key strategic partner of Kazakhstan in the Islamic and Arab world. During the meeting, issues of trade, economic and investment cooperation, as well as interaction in the energy sector, including green energy, tourism, agricultural and transport and logistics spheres were discussed.