The two countries established ties nearly three decades ago.
Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani landed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, one day before he is scheduled to speak at the Astana International Forum.
According to the Qatar News Agency (QNA), the amir was welcomed in Astana by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Kazakhstan is the third stop on an official Central Asia tour by the amir, who has already visited Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and is scheduled to head to Tajikistan.
In Kazakhstan, Sheikh Tamim is scheduled to attend the Astana International Forum on Thursday where he is listed as one of the speakers on the opening day.
The amir was in Kazakhstan in October last year to attend the sixth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in the capital of Astana.
Qatar-Kazakhstan ties
The amir’s visit is set to further develop ties between Qatar and Kazakhstan, which were established nearly three decades ago. Notably, Qatar was among the first Arab countries to recognise Kazakhstan’s independence.
Doha’s first investments in Kazakhstan were made in 1997, when the capital was transferred from Almaty to Astan. Qatar also funded the construction of the Astana Mosque, a key landmark in Kazakhstan’s capital city.
In 2020, Qatar was one of the first countries to provide Astana with medical assistance to help health authorities there combat the Covid-19 outbreak. At the time, Doha provided medical assistance and vaccines to various countries worldwide as part of efforts to join the global fight against the pandemic.
During the same year, bilateral trade between Qatar and Kazakhstan quadrupled in comparison to 2019.
Last year, Qatari investments in Kazakhstan stand at an estimate of almost $113 million, out of which $100 million belong to the Qatar Investment Authority, QNA reported in October. The remaining $13 million belongs to the Qatar Fund for Development.
The two countries also hold regular meetings that gather businessmen of Qatar and Kazakhstan in an effort to boost bilateral investments.
In 2017, the Qatar Chamber hosted a delegation of 50 Kazakh businessmen in Qatar at the “Made in Qatar” exhibition.
