Kazakhstan, Belgium eye to hold joint business forum

Kazakhstan and Belgium have agreed to hold a joint business forum, Azernews reports.

This topic was discussed during the meeting of the Vice-Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan Kairat Torebayev with Rose Donck, Director - Head of Department State Visits and Belgian Economic Missions of the Belgian Foreign Trade Agency, in Brussels.

Approximately 200 companies from both countries will participate in the upcoming business forum, scheduled to take place in Belgium in 2024.

During the discussions, the parties addressed the volume of bilateral trade and acknowledged that it falls short of the existing potential.

Rose Donck, speaking on behalf of Belgium, mentioned that the last economic mission to Kazakhstan occurred in 2010. She stated that there are considerations within the agency to organize another economic mission to Kazakhstan in the near future.

Donck further elaborated that the agency plans to arrange a business seminar focusing on investment, trade, and economic opportunities in Kazakhstan for 200 Belgian firms. She also provided insights into the agency's global activities and functions.

On the other hand, Kairat Torebayev updated the counterpart on the operations of the Ready4Trade portal and extended an invitation to Rose Donck to participate in the Astana International Forum scheduled for June 13-14, 2024.

Meanwhile, trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Belgium in 2023 amounted to $523.7 million, which is 1.7 percent higher than in 2022 ($514.9 million). By 2022-end, the volume of investments in the economy of Kazakhstan from Belgium amounted to $1.56 billion.