ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 19. A trade and economic mission from Kazakhstan is taking place in Budapest from March 17 to 20, 2025, where Kazakhstan’s Minister of Trade and Integration, Arman Shakkaliev, speaking at meetings with Hungarian partners, highlighted the significant potential for expanding bilateral cooperation, Trend reports.
A significant breakthrough of the trade and economic mission was the setting up of a partnership office in Hungary, QazTrade, which will lend a hand in showcasing Kazakh products in both the Hungarian and European markets, as well as offer a leg up in tracking down new clients. It is expected that this office will monitor the implementation of the agreements reached and actively support business connections.
"Hungary is one of the most important trade and economic partners in Central and Eastern Europe. The volume of mutual trade reached about $200 million in 2024. We aim to diversify the structure of our exports across 95 positions. In particular, we plan to increase exports to $700 million in sectors such as metallurgy, machine engineering, food products, and construction materials. Trade is an accelerator of cooperation. For our countries, the principle is not to buy and sell, but to produce together and implement,” emphasized Arman Shakkaliev.
In turn, Hungarian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Madjar Levente, noted that Hungarian entrepreneurs intend to implement a large investment project in Kazakhstan, which includes four plants for the agricultural sector: one plant for the production of premixes in the Almaty region, the second is a feed mill in Kostanay, the third will be built in the city of Sarani in the Karaganda region, and the fourth in Turkestan. According to him, total investments will amount to $62 million.
In the interim, the Hungarian Minister of Agriculture, István Nagy, underscored the potential for synergistic collaboration between the two nations, particularly within the agrarian domain.
"We can cooperate profitably even if we do not sell a single product in Kazakhstan. Because our joint companies could sell products together, for example, in China or Russia. Let’s work together to increase trade turnover. You can trade without tariffs, and we can provide our technology, our genetics, whether it’s planting material or livestock,” underscored Nagy.
He observed that within the confines of Hungary's national park, following an extensive and multifaceted process, they successfully executed the rehabilitation of a breed of equine that historically roamed the Kazakh steppes.
"But this breed has become extinct in your region, and now it only exists with us. We will send you half of this herd so that they can run in the steppes that are genetically embedded in them. Apart from economic and food reasons, this step will also enhance the security of this breed in case of any disease here. Cooperation between our peoples and countries consists of such small but very important moments," concluded Hungary’s Minister of Agriculture.
As a result of the mission, agreements were signed for mutual cooperation between QazTrade and the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as with the Hungarian Export Promotion Agency (HEPA).
This initiative is poised to catalyze a significant uptick in
bilateral commerce between Kazakhstan and Hungary, targeting a
robust $1 billion in transactional volume in the forthcoming
years.
The aggregate trade volume between Kazakhstan and Hungary for the
fiscal year 2024 reached $195.8 million, representing an increase
from the prior year's figure of $182.5 million, thereby indicating
a growth rate of 4.4 percent. Kazakhstan's outbound trade surged by
12.3 percent, reaching a valuation of $5.3 million, whereas inbound
trade escalated by 4.2 percent, totaling $190.5 million.