ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 20. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Arman Issetov and European Investment Bank (EIB) General Director Andrew McDowell discussed joint initiatives to develop the Trans‑Caspian International Transport Route (Middle Corridor), Trend reports via the Kazakh Ministry.
During the meeting, the parties also reviewed progress on implementing the 1.47 billion euro Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier among the EIB, the governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan.
A special emphasis was placed on cooperation in clean energy and critical raw materials. Issetov welcomed the recent MoU between Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy and the EIB concerning the Kambarata-1 hydropower project, signed on the sidelines of the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels (October 9–10, 2025).
Negotiations involving the EIB and Kazakh companies Sarytogan Graphite and Zhezkazgan RedMet were also highlighted as part of the bilateral roadmap for critical raw materials between Kazakhstan and the EU for 2025–2026.
In addition, the discussions covered opportunities in digitalization and innovation. Kazakhstan shared plans for developing artificial intelligence, including the establishment of an international center “alem.ai” and the planned launch of the national “Smart Cargo” platform, intended to automate customs and logistics services.
In this context, the Kazakh side expressed gratitude to the EIB for its support of digital initiatives, citing the bank’s participation in a joint project with Luxembourg-based SES to provide internet access in over 600 rural localities in Kazakhstan.