Kazakhstan and Iran prepare for scheduled high-level discussions

On 10–11 December, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian will pay an official visit to Astana.

According to the Akorda, the programme includes high-level talks aimed at further strengthening Kazakh–Iranian cooperation across trade, economic policy, transport and logistics, as well as cultural and humanitarian spheres. A series of official meetings is scheduled, during which both sides will focus on priority areas of bilateral engagement, with particular attention to the consistently growing economic partnership.

Kazakhstan and Iran share a strategically important relationship shaped by complementary economic interests and advantageous geographic positions. Earlier this year, during an official visit to Tehran, the then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Murat Nurtleu, held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi. Nurtleu highlighted that bilateral trade grew by 12.3 % in 2024, exceeding $340 million, and expanded by a further 82 % in the first quarter of 2025, reaching $129 million. Both countries aim to sustain this upward trend and increase overall trade to $3 billion.

Iran plays a key role as a transit hub for Kazakh agricultural exports destined for the markets of the Persian Gulf and the Middle East. Kazakhstan plans to continue utilising Iran’s major ports Anzali, Amirabad and Bandar Abbas to expand export capacity and improve logistical efficiency. At the same time, alternative routes remain under active consideration, including the Trans Caspian International Transport Route through Georgia for European access, Chinese ports for Asian markets and transit corridors through Turkmenistan and other Central Asian states.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Kazakhstan’s exports to Iran increased 5.7 fold between January and April 2025, reaching $117 million. Iranian partners have shown interest in several new Kazakh export categories such as vegetable oil, cotton fibre, rice, poultry meat and live sheep and goats. In 2025, the two countries signed ten commercial agreements worth $92.8 million. Discussions are also underway on establishing a potato processing facility in Qonayev, expanding the record of previous Kazakh Iranian joint investments that resulted in the construction of a meat processing plant and an oilseed processing factory.

The forthcoming visit of Iran’s President to Astana represents an important milestone in the development of bilateral cooperation. The steady expansion of trade, the diversification of logistics routes and the intensification of investment projects are reinforcing the foundations of the partnership, further strengthening the strategic roles of Kazakhstan and Iran within the regional economic landscape.

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