ASTANA, Kazakhstan, May 17. Kazakhstan and Malaysia have signed agreements and memoranda totaling over $350 million, Trend reports.
The signing of documents took place as part of an investment roundtable in Astana.
An agreement was also reached to cooperate in attracting investments in the fields of Islamic finance and trade development, as well as the food industry, mining, gold processing, and joint production of transformer and automobile oil.
During the round table, the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Olzhas Bektenov, noted that Malaysia is one of the key trade and economic partners in Southeast Asia.
"Over the course of the year, bilateral trade turnover increased from $150 million to almost $245 million. The goal is to unlock the existing potential of economies and exceed the pre-pandemic level of mutual trade of $650 million," he said.
Olzhas Bektenov announced Kazakhstan’s intention to diversify exports to Malaysia and called on Malaysian businessmen to jointly explore new opportunities to strengthen partnerships in services, manufacturing, finance, education, subsoil use, agriculture, and construction.
"Today, there are 48 companies with Malaysian capital operating in Kazakhstan. 17 joint investment projects are being implemented for a total of over $410 million," he said.
Meanwhile, the volume of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Malaysia amounted to $246.4 million in 2023. The structure of trade turnover is dominated by imports from Malaysia, which amounted to $213.4 million, while exports to Malaysia amounted to $33 million.