Your Excellency Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov

Your Excellency Ms Zulfiya Suleimenova, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources

Excellencies

Members of the Singapore and Kazakhstan business delegations

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

It is my pleasure to join His Excellency Prime Minister Smailov to attend the Singapore-Kazakhstan Business Forum organised by the Singapore Business Federation and the Kazakhstan Investment Agency. His Excellency President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and I had a very productive meeting at the Akorda Palace this morning. We jointly witnessed the signing of several Government-to-Government agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs). A highlight was the Agreement in Services and Investment between Singapore and Kazakhstan, a key component of the free trade agreement between Singapore and the Eurasian Economic Union. Once in force, the Agreement will provide our companies better access to each other’s service sectors and accord better investment protection for our investors. My congratulations to the negotiators on both sides for their hard work over the many months! Together with the upcoming ratification of the Bilateral Investment Treaty which was signed in 2018, I am confident that these agreements will strengthen economic ties between Singapore and Kazakhstan.   

I am pleased to be in Astana again since my last visit in 2017 to see for myself the positive changes which have taken place. My visit is in fact the first by a Singapore President to Kazakhstan and Central Asia. It also coincides with the 30^th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. With President Tokayev’s continued support, I am confident that Singapore-Kazakhstan relations will continue to grow from strength to strength. Singapore looks forward to hosting President Tokayev on a State Visit in the near future.

I am happy that today’s Business Forum has gathered many business leaders, including 20 representatives from Singapore-based companies to explore opportunities in Kazakhstan.

Against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and challenging global environment, the importance of economic resilience and diversification have been brought to the forefront. In this regard, Singapore continues to seek and be open to new partners and businesses. Likewise, Kazakhstan is an attractive destination for companies globally, and there is scope to expand our economic partnership.

Kazakhstan is a country of vast resources and immense economic potential, strategically located between Europe and Asia at the heart of Central Asia. Under the leadership of President Tokayev, Kazakhstan has taken significant and successful steps to reform its economy and had become an ideal hub for businesses keen to access not just the Kazakh market, but also the broader Central Asia region.

Kazakhstan is Singapore’s largest trading partner in Central Asia. Singapore companies have successfully ventured into Kazakhstan in a variety of sectors, including in master-planning, logistics, digital connectivity, e-governance, and capacity building. I am glad that companies such as Surbana Jurong, PSA International and Indorama will be signing MOUs with their Kazakh partners to explore further opportunities within the Kazakh market.

In closing, I encourage everyone to leverage  this platform to exchange ideas, gain insights into the opportunities, and build new partnerships. I also welcome Kazakh companies to explore opportunities in Singapore and to use Singapore as a hub to engage a vibrant and growing Southeast Asia. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had a cumulative GDP of US$3.4 trillion in 2021. The region has a growing middle class and is on track to become the 4^th largest economy in the world by 2030.