Within the framework of Qatar's keenness to build bridges and strengthen relations with Central Asian countries, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani Wednesday began a visit to Kazakhstan, during which His Highness will attend the Astana International Forum as a main guest.
The visit of His Highness the Amir, which is his second visit to Kazakhstan in less than a year, reflects the aspirations of both countries' leaderships to develop bilateral relations on all levels, during which several agreements and memoranda of understanding are expected to be signed, enhancing bilateral cooperation, increasing the volume of trade exchange, and establishing joint investment projects, especially in agriculture, energy and mining.
Qatar and the Republic of Kazakhstan have excellent relations of friendship and co-operation, characterised by trust and mutual respect, with bilateral diplomatic relations established on July 1, 1993. The embassy Qatar in Astana opened its doors in May 2008, whereas the embassy Kazakhstan in Doha opened in May 2007. This year, the two countries will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between them.
Qatar is considered a prominent political and economic ally of Kazakhstan and one of its most important partners in the Gulf region. Qatari-Kazakh relations are set on a number of agreements and memorandums of co-operation in many fields, with bilateral ties strengthened by a series of exchange visits between senior Qatari and Kazakh officials, most notably the visit of His Highness the Amir to Kazakhstan in January 2014 on the first official visit, in addition to His Highness paying a state visit to Kazakhstan in October 2022.
His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani was the first Arab leader to visit the capital, Astana, after its selection as the capital of Kazakhstan in April of 1999.
In the context of mutual visits, Kazakh President Tokayev visited Doha to participate in the Qatar Economic Forum in June 2022, with his predecessor, former President Nursultan Nazarbayev visiting Qatar in October 2015.
In recognition of the prestigious position His Highness Sheikh Tamim enjoys in front of the leadership and people of Kazakhstan and as an expression of pride in the strong relations between the two countries and their friendly peoples, His Highness the Amir was awarded by President Tokayev the Order of the Golden Eagle, or 'Altyn Qyran', during the visit of His Highness to Kazakhstan in October 2022. It is the highest order of Kazakhstan awarded to heads of friendly countries.
Over the course of three decades of close relations between Qatar and Kazakhstan, bilateral ties experienced successive co-operation stages, the most prominent of which was the establishment of the Qatari-Kazakhstan Joint Higher Committee, which held five consecutive sessions of meetings, the last of which was in Astana in February 2020.
Those meetings resulted in the signing of several bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding, with the committee playing an important role in fortifying bilateral relations to become a strategic partnership. The committee has served as an important mechanism for developing and expanding co-operation in economic, commercial and cultural relations, building bridges of communication between businesspersons in both countries.
Last October, Qatar Chamber and a delegation from the DAMU Entrepreneurship Development Fund in Kazakhstan reviewed bilateral co-operation relations in the trade and economic fields, the investment environment and the opportunities of both Qatar and Kazakhstan, and the possibility of establishing alliances, partnerships and joint investments.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Doha and Astana, there has been mutual support for the initiatives of the two countries in regional and international forums, including Qatar's accession to membership in the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in 2015, and to the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS).
Qatar was also one of the first countries in the world to provide medical aid to Kazakhstan in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic in implementation of the directives of His Highness the Amir. Qatar has also pumped investments into the Kazakh economy, especially in the field of infrastructure.
Within the framework of cultural co-operation between the two countries, a delegation from the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding visited Kazakhstan to see the most prominent cultural, artistic and scientific facilities after choosing the Kazakh language for the award cycle in 2022. Qatar also funded and opened the Islamic Finance Centre within the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU)- the largest university in Kazakhstan - the first of its kind in the Central Asian region.
The tourism movement between the two countries is witnessing continuous growth with the launch of direct flight between the two countries by Qatar Airways in November 2021, which contributes to opening the fields of economy and trade between the two countries in the future.
With regard to the financial co-operation between the two countries, banking co-operation was revitalised with the visit of the Governor of Qatar Central Bank to Nur-Sultan in December 2019, which resulted in Qatar Islamic Bank issuing Islamic sukuk in the Astana International Financial Centre.
Kazakhstan is looking forward to benefiting from the great experience that Qatar possesses, especially in the fields of liquefied natural gas and petrochemical production. Qatar is one of the largest exporters of liquefied natural gas in the world, while Kazakhstan is taking many measures that serve to promote economic diversification and protect foreign investment and seeks to be a commercial, financial, educational, health and tourism centre, as well as excellence in the field of food production.
