BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 13. Kazakhstan and
Belgium have discussed expanding cooperation in critical minerals,
including joint industrial and innovation projects, mineral
processing, and the development of sustainable value chains at
Nazarbayev University (NU) on October 13.
This was announced in a statement by the Kazakh government’s
press service following a roundtable held during the state visit of
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium.
The event was attended by Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov,
representatives of the business, scientific and academic
communities, and officials from relevant government bodies and
organizations.
The roundtable followed talks held the previous day between
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and King Philippe.
"Critical minerals are the foundation of the modern economy,
providing the 'framework' for technology, industry and security.
Belgium has a successful model of effective cooperation between
university research and industry, based on full trust. We are ready
to develop joint work with Kazakhstan in the same spirit. We are
deeply impressed by Kazakhstan's vision for transforming the
country's rich mineral resources and assets into a future
industry," King Philippe said.
The participants discussed opportunities to expand cooperation
in critical minerals, with a focus on joint industrial and
innovation projects, the development of processing facilities, and
the creation of sustainable value chains.
Other areas under consideration included the adoption of
advanced foreign technologies, stronger research ties,
hydrometallurgy, industrial waste recycling, and the introduction
of circular economy principles alongside the conventional
extraction and processing of rare and non-ferrous metals.
The discussions also covered the regulatory framework, the
digitalization of subsoil use processes, and reliable logistics
routes through the development of the Trans-Caspian International
Transport Route (TITR).
The parties highlighted the potential for cooperation in
transport and logistics, energy, industry, agriculture,
biotechnology, digitalization and artificial intelligence, and
space technologies.
The Kazakh government will closely monitor the implementation of
agreements reached during the talks between Tokayev and King
Philippe, with particular attention to mutually beneficial
investment, industrial, scientific and technological projects.
