BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 9. Kazakhstan and the delegation of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) discussed prospects for expanding trade, economic and investment cooperation.
This was reflected in a statement published by the press service of the Kazakh government, following the meeting between Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and the delegation led by Takeshi Hashimoto, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines,
According to the ministry, the meeting focused on implementing agreements reached during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's official visit to Japan in December 2025. During that visit, the two sides signed 47 commercial agreements worth more than $3.7 billion.
Bektenov described Japan as one of Kazakhstan's key trade and economic partners in East Asia. Bilateral trade exceeded $1.7 billion last year, while 68 enterprises with Japanese participation currently operate in Kazakhstan. Japanese companies including INPEX, Marubeni, Sumitomo and Mitsui are active in the country's market.
The prime minister said Kazakhstan is interested in deepening cooperation with Japan in advanced technologies and confirmed the government's readiness to support new investment projects, technology transfer and production localization.
''Under the leadership of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, our country has entered a stage of large-scale political and economic reforms. The Constitution adopted through a nationwide referendum has enshrined the course toward building a Fair and Progressive Kazakhstan that is open to constructive international partnership. In this context, cooperation with Japan is of particular importance to us. We are interested not only in expanding trade and investment, but also in launching joint projects that will bring new technologies, modern industries and long-term expertise to our economy,'' Bektenov said.
In turn, Takeshi Hashimoto said Kazakhstan and Japan have significant potential to broaden cooperation.
''The pace of Kazakhstan's digital transformation is impressive. Kazakhstan is a young country that is making remarkable progress in this direction. There are many young people driving digitalization. We are interested in continuing cooperation with Kazakhstan in human capital development, including the training of highly qualified specialists in IT and digital transformation. Japanese companies have extensive experience in implementing long-term infrastructure projects. We see strong potential for cooperation in developing digital and logistics infrastructure, as well as green technologies. Japan is ready to offer environmentally friendly solutions for the mining industry and contribute to Kazakhstan's sustainable economic development,'' he said.
The parties also highlighted opportunities for cooperation in transport and logistics, including the development of the Middle Corridor and Caspian port infrastructure, as well as in energy, digitalization, artificial intelligence and industrial cooperation. Kazakhstan expressed interest in joint projects with Japanese businesses focused on technology transfer, production localization and creating new drivers of economic growth
