The amir’s visit is set to further develop Qatar and Kazakhstan’s ties, which were established nearly three decades ago.
Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani landed in Kazakhstan on Tuesday where he is set to meet President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and attend a major regional summit.
According to the Amiri Diwan, the Qatari leader is scheduled to discuss with President Tokayev the development of relations between the two countries as well as regional and international issues of common interest.
Amir Tamim is also attending the sixth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in the Kazakh capital of Astana.
The high-level summit will bring together leaders and officials from members of the multi-national forum, including Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, Vice-President Wang Qishan, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Last month, Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan Al Muraikhi described the summit as a “platform for dialogue on political, security and developmental issues”.
Al Muraikhi also expressed Doha’s support for Astana’s initiative to transform the CICA Conference into an independent international organisation in Asia to boost security, cooperation and development affairs.
This year’s meeting comes amid an ongoing Russian war on Ukraine, with the former launching fresh attacks on Kyiv this week. Russia is a CICA member and Ukraine is part of the nine observer states.
The Ukraine crisis is expected to be a key issue of concern by all members. Reports said a meeting would take place on the sidelines of the event between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan.
Since the beginning of the invasion on 24 February, Turkey has served as a platform for dialogue between Russia and Ukraine in an effort to bring the war to an end.
Meanwhile, Qatar has long called for a peaceful resolution in Ukraine and urged all parties of the war to engage in a political dialogue, with the amir on Monday calling for restraint following major escalations.
Qatar-Kazakhstan ties
The amir’s visit is set to further develop Qatar and Kazakhstan’s ties, which were established nearly three decades ago.
According to the Qatar News Agenc (QNA), the Gulf state 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 Astana, per a report by QNA.
Qatar had 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 it combat the Covid-19 outbreak. At the time, authorities in Doha had provided various countries worldwide with medical assistance and vaccines in an effort to join the global fight against the pandemic.
During the same year, bilateral trade between Qatar and Kazakhstan quadrupled in comparison to 2019.
According to QNA, Qatari investments in Kazakhstan stand at an estimate of almost $113 million, out of which $100 million belong to the Qatar Investment Authority.
The remaining $13 million belongs to the Qatar Fund for Development, with work currently taking place to establish a school in Astana named after Sheikh Tamim.
The two countries 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.
