The President of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIR), Mihai Daraban, met with Murat Karimsakov, President of the Atameken International Chamber of Commerce from Kazakhstan, on October 6 in Astana. The meeting focused on strengthening economic cooperation between Romania and Kazakhstan, particularly in transport, agriculture, and energy.
Both parties discussed the longstanding economic ties between companies from the two countries. Mihai Daraban noted that several Romanian firms are active in Kazakhstan as subcontractors for KazMunayGas. However, he pointed out challenges in measuring trade volumes because many Romanian products reach Kazakhstan as finished goods through third countries.
Daraban stated: “There are several Romanian companies working in Kazakhstan as subcontractors for the KazMunayGas company, but it is difficult to quantify the exact value of trade exchanges between the two states, as long as Romanian products are present on the Kazakhstan market in finished form, thus entering into other states’ accounting. Together with the President of Atameken, we established as a priority for developing bilateral trade exchanges accessing the Black Sea on the East-West axis, which will facilitate Kazakh entrepreneurs’ access to European markets. Additionally, another economic opportunity worth exploiting by the business environments of the two states is the food industry, through opening lines for processed products. Once the military conflict in this area ends, it is very possible we will witness a decrease in grain prices. It is very important that, going forward, businesspeople from Romania and Kazakhstan have as many business-to-business contacts as possible, the most efficient exchanges of information that will thus confer a high degree of mutual trust.”
The leaders agreed to prioritize developing trade routes via access to the Black Sea along an East-West corridor to help Kazakh businesses reach European markets more easily. They also identified opportunities for collaboration in food processing industries and stressed that increased direct contact between businesses would foster greater trust and efficiency.