In Brussels, during the visit of the President of Kazakhstan, Air Astana and Airbus signed an agreement to deliver up to 50 aircraft. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated on her social media page: "Today we signed four important agreements concerning transport links, innovation, and economic ties between the countries (EU and Kazakhstan)."
According to von der Leyen, these agreements include obtaining a loan of 150 million euros to modernize sections of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, a memorandum on creating a research laboratory for critical materials in Astana, as well as an aviation agreement coordinating air traffic rights and an agreement on the delivery of aircraft.
Chairman of the Samruk-Kazyna fund Nurlan Zhakupov and Airbus President for Europe Johan Pelissier discussed expanding the Air Astana fleet with Airbus A320neo family aircraft, as well as strengthening Kazakhstan's position as an aviation hub connecting Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
The fund reported that "Air Astana has been operating Airbus aircraft since 2006 and remains the only airline in Kazakhstan that systematically uses this type of aircraft."