Sheikh Tamim and President Tokayev will hold discussions over Doha and Astana’s relations.

Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is heading to Astana to participate at the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, before a scheduled visit to Poland later this week.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Amiri Diwan announced Sheikh Tamim’s upcoming visit to Kazakhstan and Poland, where he is scheduled to meet the leaders of both countries. 

In Astana, the amir will meet President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev “to discuss boosting bilateral relations and several regional and international issues of common interest” on the sidelines of the SCO summit.

According to The Associated Press, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine is likely on the summit’s agenda, though no breakthrough is expected by the end of the discussions.

A senior Kazakh official, who was not authorised to speak publicly, told AP that there could be “a lot of sideline discussions on Ukraine, as it is a big issue which concerns” for the SCO’s members. 

Established on June 15, 2001, the SCO’s permanent members include India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Observer countries include Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia.

While Qatar is not a member of the SCO, it was granted the Dialogue Partner status in September 2021 during the summit in Tajikistan, marking  a new achievement for Qatari diplomacy. According to Qatar’s foreign ministry, Doha was among the 19 countries that submitted a request for the status.

The move came a month after Qatar played a pivotal role in carrying out mass evacuations at the time of the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on August 15, 2021. 

The leaders of the SCO’s permanent members are expected to attend the latest summit, along with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Iran will be represented by acting President Mohammad Mokhbar as Iran has yet to elect a successor to President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash alongside foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in May.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev are also scheduled to attend the summit as guests.

While the summit is also taking place amid the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, it remains unclear whether it would be part of the discussions.

Qatar-Kazakhstan ties

Doha’s first investments in Kazakhstan were made in 1997, when the capital was transferred from Almaty to Astana. 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.

Kazakhstan is also among the most important economies in Central Asia, making up 80 percent of the region’s volume of mutual trade. Its intra-regional trade had increased from $5.8 to $10bn (73.4 per cent) between 2018 and 2022, according to The Astana Times.

Last year, Kazakhstan said it was ready to diversify and increase its exports to Qatar to reach $250m.