As part of his working visit to Italy on October 7, Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan Arman Shakkaliev chaired the 10th meeting of the Intergovernmental Kazakhstan–Italy Working Group on Industrial and Economic Cooperation and Exchanges and held meetings with the heads of Italian companies and business associations, according to the Ministry of Trade and Integration.
The Italian side at the Working Group meeting was headed by Edmondo Cirielli, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic. The sides reviewed progress in implementing previously reached agreements and discussed further expansion of trade, economic and investment cooperation. Particular attention was paid to diversifying bilateral trade, developing industrial cooperation, implementing joint investment projects, and strengthening cooperation in energy, transport and logistics, the agro-industrial sector and other promising areas.
In 2025, bilateral trade amounted to approximately USD 16.9 billion. In January–July 2026, trade turnover reached USD 9.79 billion, including approximately USD 9 billion in Kazakhstan’s exports and USD 789.6 million in imports from Italy. At the same time, Italian exports to Kazakhstan increased by 13.5%.
One of the key priorities identified by the sides was further diversification of bilateral trade and expansion of supplies of higher value-added products. According to the Kazakh side, the potential for additional exports of Kazakh products to the Italian market is estimated at approximately USD 307.5 million. Significant opportunities exist in metallurgy, petrochemicals, food and chemical industries, mechanical engineering and other sectors.
Considerable attention was also paid to the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (Middle Corridor) as a reliable and efficient multimodal corridor connecting Central Asia and Europe. Kazakhstan invited Italian railway and logistics companies to participate in joint projects using the capabilities of the ports of Aktau and Kuryk.
In the agro-industrial sector, the sides discussed prospects for cooperation in crop production, grain processing and livestock farming. They agreed to continue efforts to increase the level of localization and develop the component base, with a view to integrating Kazakh-made components into global supply chains.
A significant part of the discussions focused on attracting Italian and European businesses to investment and industrial projects in Kazakhstan. During meetings with representatives of Blacktrace and Value Partners, the sides explored opportunities to develop a concrete project pipeline and attract investors, technology providers and engineering partners. Potential areas included the deep processing of critical minerals and rare earth metals, development of logistics infrastructure along the Middle Corridor, water-saving technologies, data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
