Kazakhstan ready to increase exports of products by $243mln to Qatar – Smailov

ASTANA. KAZINFORM – Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held a meeting on the sidelines of the 3rd Qatari Economic Forum in Doha, Kazinform cites the press service of the Head of the Kazakh Government.

During the meeting, Smailov conveyed the warmest greetings and good wishes from Kazakh Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the Qatari Emir as well as congratulated on the successful holding of the FIFA World Cup, which received considerable global attention.

The Kazakh Premier stressed that Qatar is a significant political and economic partner of Kazakhstan in the Arab world, as the two-way trade between the countries rose 17.7 times in Q1 this year, and the volume of Qatari investments in Kazakhstan rose 3fold last year.

«There is significant potential to further enhance mutual trade. To this end, we suggest increasing the export of 60 Kazakhstani products to the tune of $243mln. There is interest in further strengthening investment partnership,» said Smailov.

In that regard, the Kazakh Prime minister stressed the importance of cooperation between the state funds Qatar Investment Authority and Samruk Kazyna and the plans to set up a joint direct investments fund.

For his part, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani confirmed the readiness to step up bilateral cooperation in all priority areas.