Kazakhstan is looking to deepen its partnership with African countries, including Nigeria, as part of a growing effort to boost trade, technology sharing, and sustainable development between Central Asia and Africa.
At the Astana International Forum, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alibek Kuantyrov, said Africa is more than just a developing region to Kazakhstan – it is a valuable and strategic partner. He spoke during a special session titled “Kazakhstan and Africa: New Frontiers of Cooperation”, where top African leaders and investors joined the conversation.
One major highlight was the $33 million investment by Egyptian pharmaceutical company EIPICO to build a full-cycle drug production plant in Kazakhstan. The Deputy Minister said this shows African companies now see Kazakhstan as a serious investment destination for high-tech industries.
He also revealed that trade between Kazakhstan and Africa grew by 15% in 2024, reaching $783 million, with more interest in areas like agriculture, logistics, digital technologies, pharmaceuticals, and industrial manufacturing.
Nigeria’s traditional monarch, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi of Ife, joined other dignitaries like Rwanda’s Foreign Minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, and Congo’s Minister for International Cooperation, Denis Sassou N’Guesso, to discuss how Africa can work more closely with Kazakhstan.
Kuantyrov stressed that Kazakhstan is not coming to Africa as a donor or aid giver, but as a true partner ready to trade, co-invest, and share knowledge—especially in green energy, e-governance, agriculture, and smart technologies.
He said Kazakhstan is one of the world’s top flour exporters and is ready to help African countries achieve food security by sharing farming and food-processing experience. There were also talks about sending halal and organic products to African markets and creating joint agricultural processing hubs.
The forum also looked at future cooperation in telecoms, smart cities, and space technologies. Kazakhstan invited African countries to work together on digital innovation and use platforms like Astana Hub (for tech startups), KazAID (foreign aid support), and the Islamic Organization for Food Security, which includes Nigeria.
The session ended with a strong call to build more business-to-business (B2B) connections between African and Central Asian entrepreneurs to help both regions grow.
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