Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said his primary goal is to strengthen the economic potential, sovereignty, and international standing of his Central Asian country. Since its independence, Kazakhstan has built relations with other countries based on its multi-vector balanced foreign policy, Tokayev said in a wide-ranging interview with the Ana Tili newspaper on January 3, reflecting on the dynamics of diplomatic and trade relationships with Russia, China, and the United States, according to the Akorda, the press office of the President.
Tokayev reiterated that most nations view Kazakhstan as a country of strategic importance stemming from geographical position, economic potential, and modern geopolitical context.
“This is why not only our traditional partners but also countries as far as Africa seek to maintain friendly relations with us,” Kazakhstan’s president said.
According to Tokayev, Kazakhstan’s role as a middle power carries substantial obligations, and a primary one is a commitment to responsible conduct on the international stage and a constructive approach to the most pressing challenges. “Consistent with this, Kazakhstan is a steadfast supporter of the United Nations as the ‘common home of all humanity’—a non-alternative and universal organization,” he added.
Turning to relations with Moscow, Tokayev pointed out that the border between Kazakhstan and Russia, which is the world’s longest continuous border, makes close cooperation in trade and investment inevitable. According to him, it could not be otherwise.
Regarding China, Tokayev said the further development of comprehensive cooperation with Beijing remains a key objective for Kazakh diplomacy. “China is firmly positioned as Kazakhstan’s primary trading partner and has become one of the largest investors in our economy. The political will of both leaders provides the foundation for achieving the ambitious goal of doubling trade volumes, making it entirely realistic,” he said.
Tokayev asserted high-level dialogue will continue in 2025, with China’s President Xi Jinping scheduled to participate in the Central Asia–China summit.
U.S.-Kazakh relations under Trump will be good
In December, Tokayev had a phone conversation with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. “I can confidently state that he holds a positive view of Kazakhstan as an important strategic partner of the United States. We agreed to maintain high-level working contacts,” the Kazakh President said.
Tokayev reflected on his involvement in building U.S.-Kazakh ties since the mid-1990s, emphasizing that over the past three decades, the two nations have had a shared vision – trade, economic and investment collaboration, nuclear non-proliferation, and security. According to Tokayev, this agenda would continue to guide joint efforts with the new U.S. administration.
Carrying out reforms
“At the beginning of last year, I said in an interview that 2024 would be a defining year for Kazakhstan in many ways and so it has been. By starting systemic and even challenging economic reforms, we have laid a solid foundation for the country’s five-year development. There has been a significant number of completed projects and initiatives in this direction, and there will be even more,” he said. Tokayev emphasized that all regions had modernized their engineering and utility infrastructure, which had once been in a dire condition. Additionally, 18 million square meters of housing were commissioned, and 7,000 kilometers of highways were constructed or repaired. New passenger terminals were opened at the airports in Almaty, Kyzylorda, and Shymkent. Large-scale projects were also carried out in the mining, petrochemical, and metallurgical industries.
“The manufacturing sector has progressed significantly, and its share in the industrial structure is nearly on par with that of the extractive sector. I would particularly like to note the success of our agrarians, who have produced a record-breaking harvest of almost 27 million tons of grain over the last ten years,” he said.
Social initiatives advanced significantly: the National Fund for Children began its payments, while there were increases in pensions, allowances, scholarships, and civil servants’ salaries. Hundreds of schools, kindergartens, and fitness centers were built, over ten leading foreign university branches opened, science funding increased, cultural figures gained strong support, and mass sports development was prioritized.
Restoring regions devastated by floods
“In general, the past year was far from simple, one could say it was tough. Kazakhstan experienced the negative impact of external factors; the natural disasters also interfered with our plans. Yet not only did we manage to hold the situation but also continued the implementation of reforms. Thus, the procreation strategy continued its development,” he said.
In spring 2024, Kazakhstan was hit by a wave of devastating floods forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate. In response, the government responded promptly, implementing comprehensive measures to support affected citizens and restore the devastated regions, he said.
“It must be acknowledged that such severe consequences could have been avoided if proper attention had been given in recent decades to building protective dams and other hydraulic structures. We are now working to fix this oversight,” Tokayev said, noting that the country’s Parliament is reviewing the draft of the new Water Code. “A concept and a comprehensive plan for water resources management have been approved. These documents provide for the construction of over 40 new reservoirs and reconstruction of 37 existing reservoirs, as well as modernization of more than 14,000 kilometers of irrigation canals until 2030,” he said.
Large-scale modernization of forecasting and emergency situations prevention systems has begun. To address the shortage of water specialists and strengthen research activities, the Kazakh National University of Water Resources and Irrigation has been established.
“The elimination of the consequences of spring floods has shown the effectiveness of the state. Not a single affected family was left without help and support. Houses were built and apartments were purchased, infrastructure facilities were restored, and losses were compensated to all residents and businessmen affected by high water,” he said.
In early December last year, Tokayev attended the One Water Summit, which was chaired by Kazakhstan and France in Saudi Arabia, where the Kazakh President said he “highlighted the need to enhance resilience to water-related disasters. Indeed, water security and climate change issues require joint efforts of the international community. This is a priority issue for Kazakhstan.”
Kazakhstan plans to hold the Astana International forum (AIF) on May 29 – 30, 2025, which was cancelled last year as the country redirected resources to deal with the devastating floods. Building on the inaugural edition in 2023, the 2025 AIF will gather leaders from around the world to exchange perspectives on the most critical issues of the day. A special focus will be on the economy and finance, investment in technology and ICT as well as the Middle Corridor.
