King Philippe of Belgium called on business communities in Kazakhstan and Belgium to step up cooperation in energy, critical minerals, transport and logistics, finance and tourism. He made the appeal at the fourth meeting of the Kazakhstan-Belgium Business Council, infohub.kz reports.
According to the monarch, Brussels and Astana have every prerequisite to strengthen ties between Europe and Central Asia.
"Belgium, located at the very heart of the European Union, serves as a gateway to the European market and has considerable expertise in technology, innovation, clean energy, logistics and international trade," Philippe said.
He described Kazakhstan as a key link in the Eurasian space. In his assessment, its geographic position and natural resources have enabled the country to become a regional hub for trade, investment and green economy development. These characteristics of the two states create a foundation for complementary cooperation.
"Belgium and Kazakhstan are separated by a considerable geographic distance, yet in our level of ambition, pragmatic approach and determination we are remarkably close," the king concluded.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that at the same meeting President Qasym-Jomart Toqaev proposed establishing a partnership between the Antwerp-Bruges port complex and the ports of Aktau and Kuryk to expand markets for Kazakh products. Among other priorities, he identified artificial intelligence, critical minerals processing, energy and pharmaceuticals.