Kazakhstan, Germany plan to triple trade turnover
ASTANA. July 19 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan and Germany are planning to boost mutual trade to $10 billion over the next few years, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said following talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"We have put forward the task of increasing trade turnover to $10 billion. The task has a very solid economic foundation," he said at a joint press conference with Merkel in Astana on Sunday.
Bilateral trade last year was worth $3 billion, he said.
"In the first half [of 2010] trade stood at $1.5 billion. Germany had good economic growth indicators in the first half, Kazakhstan's 8% economic growth - all this indicates that our economies are recovering from the crisis and our trade relations have very good prospects," Nazarbayev said.
He noted that following Kazakhstan's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, German companies have invested $3 billion in the Kazakh economy and Kazakh companies $4 billion in the German economy.
"It turns out that we have invested more in Germany than Germany has invested in Kazakhstan" he said.
He added that expanding German business involvement in Kazakhstan was discussed during talks with Merkel.