BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 24. Kazakhstan and Japan discussed the 9th joint meeting of the Joint Commission of Government and Private Sectors on Economic Cooperation, scheduled to take place in December 2026 in Astana, during a meeting at the Kazakh Embassy in Japan today.
According to the Kazakh MFA, the meeting was held between Kazakh Ambassador to Japan Yerlan Baudarbek-Kozhatayev and Yoshinori Kanehana, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Chairman of the Japan Business Association (ROTOBO).
“Around 150 prominent representatives of Japanese big business are expected to participate, representing such key sectors as energy, machinery, transport, logistics, mining, construction, and finance,” the ministry said.
The event will focus on strengthening the strategic economic partnership between Japan and Kazakhstan, with particular emphasis on the development of artificial intelligence and digital technologies, promotion of green transformation, deepening cooperation in the financial sector, and enhancing supply chain resilience.
ROTOBO coordinates the participation of Japanese business representatives in the commission's work, serving as the secretariat for the Japan-Kazakhstan Economic Committee.
The upcoming Joint Commission meeting aims to implement the agreements reached during the official visit of President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Japan in December 2025.
During the meeting, Ambassador Baudarbek-Kozhatayev highlighted Kazakhstan's interest in strengthening its long-term technological partnership with Kawasaki Heavy Industries, including joint project implementation and the localization of advanced technological solutions.
The Kazakhstan side presented investment proposals for establishing automated warehousing and fulfillment complexes integrated with robotic systems, modern operations management technologies, and smart logistics solutions.
In addition, investment projects were presented in hydrogen energy, industrial automation, transport and logistics, and urban infrastructure development, including the flagship tech hub project, Alatau City.
For his part, Yoshinori Kanehana, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, confirmed the corporation's strong interest in implementing projects in Kazakhstan, identifying the petrochemical industry and energy machinery as priority areas for cooperation.
Furthermore, the head of the Japanese corporation emphasized that amid growing volatility in global markets, Kazakhstan is viewed by the Japanese business community as a strategically important and reliable supplier of critical minerals.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a major Japanese industrial and engineering corporation operating in energy, transport, aerospace, shipbuilding, industrial equipment, robotics, and infrastructure. As one of the global technological leaders in liquefied hydrogen, Kawasaki Heavy Industries developed and built the world's first liquefied hydrogen carrier, Suiso Frontier, and commissioned the world's first dedicated liquefied hydrogen receiving terminal.
