Qatar established diplomatic relations with Kazakhstan on July 1, 1993, and since then both nations have cooperated with one another in many fields and have developed strong bilateral relations, which are based on mutual trust and respect.
The state visit of HH Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday to Kazakhstan will only cement these ties further and see more cooperation in various fields, including political, economic, cultural, and humanitarian. He and the accompanying delegation were welcomed at the Astana International Airport by President of Kazakhstan HE Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Qatar has made many significant contributions to the cultural fabric of Kazakhstan by building a school, a hospital, and a prominent mosque.
On the initiative of the Father Amir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani during his first visit to Kazakhstan in 1999, Qatar financed and built one of the largest mosques in the Kazakh capital, the “Nur Astana” Mosque, which was later renamed Abu Nasr Al Farabi Mosque, and opened in 2005.
Qatar also financed the Islamic Finance Center at the Al Farabi Kazakh National University - the largest university in Kazakhstan - the first of its kind in the Central Asian region. Other key projects backed by Qatar in Kazakhstan are the opening of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani school in 2018, and the maternity hospital project in Almaty.
The bilateral trade between the country saw a significant boost after Qatar Airways started direct flights to Kazakhstan last year and the frequency increased this year beginning. This is expected to give a much-needed push to the tourism sectors of the two countries as the travel industry is slowly getting back on its feet after the catastrophic hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries have also exempt nationals from prior entry visas. The Kazakh officials are confident that the connectivity will also help in attracting more investments into the country from Qatar and they are hopeful to see more interest from Qatari businessmen in agricultural, energy, and mining fields.
A jump in trade was witnessed recently as Kazakhstan has been working on exporting various goods to Qatar. Last year, for the first time, Kazakh meat products were introduced in the Qatari market and received positive feedback from consumers. Now they are trying to supply other types of agricultural products as logistical challenges, which were hindering the trade, were solved by the introduction of direct flights.
With the latest visit by H H the Amir, the existing ties – political, cultural, and commercial - will get stronger and bilateral relations will prosper benefitting the people of both nations.
