Road to Trade Winds Europe/Eurasia: Almaty, Kazakhstan

February 27, 2024

Don Townsend is ITA’s Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Almaty, Kazakhstan

In just a few months, the International Trade Administration (ITA) will lead the U.S. Government’s largest annual trade mission across Europe and Eurasia aimed to build partnerships and facilitate deals with international buyers and distributors. Trade Winds Europe/Eurasia will have mission stops in six countries and feature a diverse range of U.S. businesses representing a variety of different industries—from clean technologies to defense to retail—for tailored matchmaking meetings, networking opportunities, and one-on-one meetings with ITA’s commercial diplomats. Trade Winds Europe/Eurasia will visit Almaty, Kazakhstan from May 16-17, 2024.

With the largest economy in Central Asia, Kazakhstan is an increasingly important trading partner to the United States. In 2022, U.S.-Kazakhstan bilateral trade reached $3.7 billion, a nearly 50 percent increase from 2021, with U.S. exports rising to nearly $1.1 billion across a variety of sectors, including machinery, pharmaceuticals, electronics and vehicles.

With over 600 U.S. companies operating in the country, Kazakhstan is also emerging as the primary business, transport and logistics hub of Central Asia. The country offers a gateway to a market of about 150 million consumers among Caspian Sea countries, 50 million in Central Asia and 300 million in Western China, linking the large, fast-growing markets of China and South Asia with Western Europe.

In 2015, the Government of Kazakhstan launched the Nurly Zhol initiative – a nearly $9 billion endeavor to develop and modernize roads, railways, ports, airports and IT infrastructure. This infrastructure investment presents opportunities for U.S. companies across a variety of sectors to provide goods, services and expertise as Kazakhstan further solidifies its position as Central Asia’s premiere transit hub.

Kazakhstan also has abundant mineral resources. It is the world’s largest uranium producer, third largest titanium producer, and eleventh largest gold producer. In total, the mining sector accounted for an estimated 17% of Kazakhstan’s gross domestic product in 2022. Kazakhstan has great potential for producing critical minerals and rare earth elements, which are ever increasingly in demand as countries and industries shift to using more renewable energy sources.

Additionally, agriculture and water management present potential opportunities for U.S. companies looking to explore or expand in the Kazakhstan market. Agriculture has historically been an important driver of the country’s economic production, accounting for 5.1% in 2022. The Government of Kazakhstan has also announced that it intends to invest an annual average of $530 million to water management between 2021-2030 to modernize its wastewater treatment facilities and improve sections of various canals and evaporation fields. The Asian Development Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will allocate a combined $686 million to construct and modernize sewage treatment facilities in cities across the country, which presents opportunities for U.S. businesses to bid on tenders for goods and services.

Given the significant opportunities and immense potential for increased commercial engagement, Almaty was selected as one of the six mission stops for Trade Winds Europe/Eurasia. While the mission stop in Almaty is at capacity, interested parties can still register to attend the Business Forum in Istanbul, Türkiye and meet with me to learn more about the market. For more information, please visit the Trade Winds Europe/Eurasia webpage.