Turkish, Kazakh presidents discuss cooperation in energy, investment

Ankara [Turkey], July 30: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and visiting Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a meeting in Ankara on Tuesday over bilateral cooperation.
Erdogan said at a joint press conference after the meeting that they discussed ways "to increase the volume of Kazakh oil transported to global markets through Türkiye."
He added that Türkiye and Kazakhstan aim to expand their cooperation in key sectors, including defense, energy, trade, and counterterrorism, highlighting energy as a cornerstone of their partnership.
The two leaders also reviewed "concrete projects to advance military and defense industry cooperation," and discussed security cooperation and the fight against terrorist organizations, according to Erdogan.
Erdogan said that Türkiye has invested approximately 5 billion U.S. dollars in Kazakhstan, while Kazakh investments in Türkiye have reached 1.5 billion dollars. Turkish contractors have so far completed over 500 projects in Kazakhstan worth more than 30 billion dollars, he added.
For his part, Tokayev said they "evaluated key areas of cooperation and signed important intergovernmental documents to revitalize our ties across various sectors."
Tokayev said Kazakhstan's trade with Türkiye has surpassed 2 billion dollars. "We are ready to offer special incentives to Turkish companies for the renewal of Kazakhstan's railway system and revitalization of maritime trade in the Caspian Sea," he added.
Regarding the energy sector, Tokayev said 1.4 million tons of Kazakh oil are being delivered to Türkiye via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, and both sides are in talks to increase this capacity. "Turkish companies have expressed their willingness to work in our markets, and we are ready to carry out major joint projects," he said.
Source: Xinhua