The second meeting of the Kazakh-Croatian Business Council and a Business Forum were held in Astana.

Astana, April 23, 2025 — The second meeting of the Kazakh-Croatian Business Council and a Business Forum were held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The event was attended by high-ranking representatives of Kazakhstan and Croatia: Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia Gordan Grlic-Radman.

In addition, the event was attended by Chairman of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan Murat Karimsakov, Vice-President of the Croatian Chamber of Economics Igor Pokrov, heads of relevant ministries, embassies and business circles of both countries.

The Kazakh Foreign Minister noted that today's event will be a starting point for intensifying the political dialogue aimed at strengthening economic ties between Kazakhstan and Croatia. He stressed that the meeting demonstrates the increasing dynamics in the development of traditionally friendly bilateral relations.

Continuing the strategic dialogue, Gordan Grlicz-Radman expressed confidence in the potential of bilateral cooperation. "Croatia considers Kazakhstan as a key country in Central Asia, both in the political and economic context. We are pleased that the economic relations between our countries have especially strengthened over the past few years and our trade continues to grow."

Murat Karimsakov, Chairman of the Board of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan, Igor Pokrov, Vice-President of the Croatian Chamber of Economics, and representatives of companies and financial institutions also addressed the participants with a welcoming speech.

According to Murat Karymsakov, today it is more important than ever to build strong and mutually beneficial ties between countries based on trust, openness and common interests. "Kazakhstan exports mainly products of the oil industry, metallurgy and mechanical engineering. To date, 32 enterprises with the participation of Croatian capital are successfully operating in the country in the fields of construction, food industry, professional and scientific and technical services, including companies such as Podravka, JGL, Pliva, BELUPO, Infobip, Simunic Promet and others"- He summed it up.

In turn, Igor Razv noted that the trade turnover between Croatia and Kazakhstan is showing steady growth. "We are seeing encouraging growth in exports of Croatian products — food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and technology. This indicates a gradual diversification of the exchange structure and new business opportunities on both sides," he stressed.

By the way, the event was attended by representatives from more than 60 Kazakhstani companies from the private sector, and about 30 companies from the Croatian side. During the discussions, special attention was paid to the prospects of cooperation in the field of production, localization of business, as well as joint investment projects. The opportunities of Kazakhstan's National Digital Investment Platform and small and medium-sized business support services were presented to the forum participants.

The forum ended with B2B meetings aimed at establishing direct business contacts and developing partnerships between companies from the two countries.