Kazakhstan interested in cooperation with Russia in gas pipelines, supply, transit - Russian govt
MOSCOW. Jan 10 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan is interested in cooperation with Russia in the modernization of gas pipelines, the expansion of gas supply, and gas transit to third countries, the Russian government's press service said after a meeting of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak with Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar.
The sides discussed partnership in the electric power industry, atomic energy industry, and oil and gas sectors.
"Roman Sklyar reaffirmed the readiness of Kazakhstan to continue the development of cooperation with the Russian Federation in every field of the energy sector. He emphasized the keen interest of Kazakhstan in cooperating with the Russian Federation in the modernization of the gas transmission system of Kazakhstan, the provision of gas supply to northern and eastern parts of the country, and the transportation of larger amounts of Russian gas to third countries," the press service said.
As reported earlier, the leaderships of Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are discussing a possible enlargement of the Russian gas supply to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan with due account of their increased domestic consumption and export obligations. That may require modernization of gas transmission infrastructure or even the construction of new gas pipelines. For instance, it will be necessary to invest about 260 billion rubles in the development of gas transmission infrastructure inside Russian territory.
Sklyar noted Kazakhstan's interest in the participation of Russian companies in the construction of energy infrastructure elements in Kazakhstan and informed his Russian colleagues about legislative efforts towards better terms for the participation of Russian contractors in joint projects, including the development of hard-to-recover oil fields in Kazakhstan.
In turn, Novak said that Russia values the partnership and alliance with Kazakhstan. "Russian-Kazakh cooperation is progressively developing and has a comprehensive, mutually advantageous nature. It meets the spirit of strategic partnership between Russia and Kazakhstan that rests upon solid traditions of friendship, neighborliness and mutual respect," he said.
Russia ranks first among foreign trade partners of Kazakhstan. Its share in Kazakhstan's foreign trade turnover stood at 23.9% in 2021. Russian-Kazakh trade grew 9.8% year-on-year to $22.6 billion in the first ten months of 2022, the press service said.
The sides also discussed the prospects for building a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan using Russian technologies.