Gabidulla Ospankulov / May 2026
Image: Shutterstock
Europe’s relationship with Kazakhstan has long been associated with oil, gas, uranium, and raw materials. Historically, these sectors have formed the backbone of economic ties between Kazakhstan and the European Union.
But in a fragmented global economy, countries are no longer focused solely on securing access to raw materials. Attention is increasingly shifting toward resilient industrial ecosystems, reliable supply chains, and trusted production partnerships. Against this backdrop, something broader is beginning to take shape between Europe and Central Asia’s largest economy: a partnership centred on technological modernisation, infrastructure, and long-term economic integration.
As President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is set to meet with European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen soon, the timing is particularly significant. Across Europe, questions of economic resilience and sustainable growth have moved to the centre of policymaking. At the same time, Kazakhstan is pursuing an agenda of innovation aimed at moving beyond a resource-export model toward higher-value industrial development and deeper integration into global value chains.
Together, these shifts are creating new opportunities for a broader and more sophisticated economic partnership between Kazakhstan and the European Union.
The scale of the existing relationship already provides a strong foundation. The European Union remains Kazakhstan’s largest trading and investment partner. In 2025, trade between Kazakhstan and the EU totalled more than $45.1 billion, while European investment into Kazakhstan since 2005 has exceeded $200 billion – nearly half of all foreign direct investment attracted by the country. More than 4,000 companies with European participation now operate in Kazakhstan across sectors ranging from energy and mining to manufacturing, logistics, finance, and engineering.
Yet the most important aspect of EU–Kazakhstan economic cooperation today is not simply the size of the relationship, but the way in which it is changing.
Kazakhstan remains a major supplier of oil to European markets and continues to play an important role in Europe’s energy security. The country also produces 21 of the 34 critical raw materials identified by the EU as strategically important for the green and digital transition, including copper, tungsten, uranium, titanium, rare earth elements, lithium, cobalt, and nickel.
But increasingly, cooperation is moving beyond extraction alone.
The EU–Kazakhstan Strategic Partnership Roadmap on critical raw materials, batteries, and renewable hydrogen is helping create a more integrated relationship focused on processing, technology transfer, research cooperation, and value-added production. This reflects a broader shift taking place globally.
Kazakhstan is positioning itself within precisely this emerging economic landscape. In the energy sector, projects such as Hyrasia One in Mangystau, which aims to become one of the world’s largest green hydrogen initiatives, illustrate how cooperation is expanding into future-oriented industries tied to Europe’s decarbonisation agenda. Another example is the Mirny renewable energy project being developed by France’s TotalEnergies in the Zhambyl region. The $1.2 billion project will combine 1 GW of wind power capacity with a 600 MWh battery energy storage system, one of the largest renewable energy initiatives currently under development in Central Asia. As Kazakhstan seeks to support the long-term energy needs of industrial growth and economic modernisation, the government has also launched the development of the country’s first nuclear power plant following a national referendum in 2024.
At the same time, transport and logistics are becoming another important pillar of cooperation. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, often referred to as the Middle Corridor, is gaining growing attention as trade flows between Asia and Europe continue to diversify. Kazakhstan has invested heavily in rail infrastructure, ports, logistics terminals, and digitalisation projects designed to improve connectivity across Eurasia. European industrial partners are also becoming embedded in Kazakhstan’s railway modernisation. French rail giant Alstom operates the only electric locomotive manufacturing facility in Central Asia in Astana, where more than 1,200 employees produce freight and passenger locomotives both for Kazakhstan and export markets such as Azerbaijan. Swiss company Stadler Rail has meanwhile launched passenger railcar production in Astana under an agreement to supply 557 passenger cars for Kazakhstan’s railway network through 2030, alongside a 20-year maintenance partnership. German logistics and railway operator Deutsche Bahn has also expanded cooperation with Kazakhstan in the areas of Eurasian freight transport, logistics optimisation, and rail connectivity linked to the development of the Middle Corridor. These projects highlight a broader trend in EU–Kazakhstan cooperation: investment focused not only on transit routes themselves, but also on local manufacturing, technology transfer, engineering expertise, and long-term integration. Kazakhstan is also modernising its aviation infrastructure as part of this broader connectivity agenda. Since 2019, the country has upgraded and constructed new airports, expanded incentives for international carriers, and increased direct international air links, including routes connecting Kazakhstan with Rome, Paris, New York, and Tokyo. Kazakhstan is also establishing a national cargo airline as it strengthens its position within emerging Eurasian logistics and transport networks, including initiatives linked to the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.
Importantly, these projects are not simply about transit. They are contributing to the development of industrial capacity, engineering expertise, logistics services, and modern infrastructure within Kazakhstan itself. In this sense, connectivity is becoming part of a broader modernisation process.
European institutions and companies are also showing growing interest in digital connectivity, smart infrastructure, and innovation cooperation. For instance, in 2025 the European Investment Bank and European Commission launched a nearly €60 million initiative with European satellite operator SES aimed at expanding broadband connectivity to underserved rural areas across Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, as part of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.
Kazakhstan is investing heavily in digital infrastructure, AI development, e-government systems, and innovation ecosystems. The country’s Astana Hub technology park now hosts around 2,000 companies, while initiatives aimed at AI education, startup development, and smart infrastructure are increasingly attracting international attention. Kazakhstan also ranked in the top ten of the United Nations Online Service Index, reflecting the country’s wider push toward digital public services and technological modernisation. European engagement in these sectors remains at an earlier stage than in energy or transport, but the direction is clear: economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and Europe is becoming more diversified and increasingly connected to technology, innovation, and digital infrastructure.
Equally important is the institutional side of this transformation. Over the past several years, Kazakhstan has worked to improve the investment environment through legal reforms, modernisation of public administration, and an expanded use of international arbitration mechanisms. The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which operates under English common law principles and includes an independent court and international arbitration centre staffed by foreign legal professionals, has become an important platform for international investors operating in Central Asia. At the same time, Kazakhstan has expanded digital public services, simplified investment procedures, and strengthened investor support mechanisms. These reforms are aimed at creating a more predictable, transparent, and internationally compatible business environment capable of supporting international investment.
Of course, challenges remain. Developing new sectors requires skilled human capital, technological upgrading, sustainable infrastructure, and continued institutional reform. The transition from resource extraction toward higher-value production cannot happen overnight.
Nevertheless, what is emerging is not simply a larger trade relationship, but a more sophisticated economic partnership built around industrial capacity, connectivity, innovation, and long-term supply chain integration. In many respects, EU–Kazakhstan relations are entering a new phase, one defined less by transactional commodity flows alone and more by economic integration across strategically important sectors.
