The Head of State spoke at the Kazakhstan-EU roundtable, as reported by Akorda. Addressing a meeting in Brussels with representatives of business circles from EU member states, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that relations between Kazakhstan and the EU have acquired a truly strategic character. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.

"Today, the European Union is the largest trade and investment partner of our country, accounting for nearly half of all foreign direct investment attracted to Kazakhstan. In the past year alone, bilateral trade turnover exceeded $45 billion. This achievement is recognized internationally," the president said.

The Head of State announced that commercial agreements worth over $12 billion in total will be signed during this visit.

"Kazakhstan is ready to supply 21 of the 34 minerals included by the EU in the list of critical raw materials. To maximize this potential, we propose a cooperation path based on off-take agreements. This will facilitate processing of raw materials within the country and create high value-added production chains. The establishment of a regional research center for rare earth metals is a result of partnership in this area. Moreover, Kazakhstan is always keen to promote the initiative of transitioning to a new global energy system," Tokayev said.

He noted that as a major uranium producer, the country supplies about 40% of global demand, and while having significant reserves of oil, gas, and coal, Kazakhstan is actively pursuing a green hydrogen production project.

"Furthermore, Kazakhstan has untapped large reserves of lithium, nickel, vanadium, and cobalt. Ultimately, we offer partners a very pragmatic formula: we intend to exchange access to strategic resources for investment and technology. This approach fully complies with European standards," the President of Kazakhstan said.

Additionally, the president elaborated on promising areas of cooperation, emphasizing the great potential for collaboration, and stated that Kazakhstan advocates for genuine strategic partnership.