At a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev put forward a number of initiatives, the key one being a proposal to form a portfolio of flagship CIS industrial-technological projects for 2027–2030, infohub.kz reports.
The head of state informed summit participants that Kazakhstan is simultaneously creating a network of cross-border industrial and trade centers on the Russian direction, as well as on the borders with Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. A legal framework has already been established to strengthen industrial and trade cooperation.
"Modern infrastructure is being developed across a significant part of the CIS space to foster business ties and launch new production facilities. Now we must fulfill the task of unlocking existing potential—in other words, reducing unjustified, artificially created barriers to mutual trade, expanding the services market, and creating favorable conditions for mutual investment. A logical continuation of this work should be the implementation of major joint initiatives under the auspices of the Commonwealth. In this regard, I propose forming a portfolio of flagship CIS industrial-technological projects for 2027-2030. In my view, it is desirable to focus on producing high value-added goods, which will create new growth points for our economies. At the same time, understanding the complexity of this task, Kazakhstan will adhere to a pragmatic, realistic position without abandoning the effective use of existing advantages and achievements in the economic sphere. Development institutions, financial organizations, and businesses must be involved in this work," the President said.
Another promising area for expanding cooperation mentioned in the speech was the development of transport links and strengthening transit potential.
"For Kazakhstan, the North-South, Western China-Western Europe, and Trans-Caspian routes are priorities. Their seamless interconnection will significantly enhance the efficiency of the entire continental transportation system. The Concept for the Interconnection of Main Transport Arteries Passing Through the Territories of CIS Member States, approved in May of this year at our country's initiative, serves this goal. Kazakhstan is making a concrete contribution to the implementation of this Concept. In August, construction began on the new Aral-Caspian Highway with a total length of over one and a half thousand kilometers," Tokayev added.
According to him, with the completion of this strategic project, the road route from China to Europe will be shortened by approximately one thousand kilometers, and transit cargo delivery times will be reduced to three days.
"Work continues on other major projects. The so-called 'soft infrastructure'—digitalization of transportation, electronic document flow, and harmonization of border procedures—is playing an increasingly important role. A priority task is the formation of a 'single digital corridor.' At our proposal, electronic exchange of permit documents has been introduced with Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Similar work is underway with Russia and Belarus. Together with the Russian side, the first cross-border unmanned cargo transportation was launched in May of this year. I consider it practically feasible to scale up the most effective solutions across the entire CIS space," the head of state noted.