ISTANBUL

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Kazakh counterpart, Yermek Kosherbayev, will co-chair the eighth meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group in Ankara on Monday.

During the meeting, Fidan is expected to express satisfaction with the state of political relations between the countries and with the high-level visits and contacts in this regard, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said.

Fidan will also highlight steps to further strengthen cooperation, particularly in trade, economy, investment, energy, transportation, defense industry, education, and humanitarian and cultural fields.

He is also expected to address possible efforts that could be undertaken to reach the target of a $15 billion trade volume.

The Turkish foreign minister will highlight the importance of boosting cooperation in multilateral platforms, particularly the Organization of Turkic States.

Fidan is also anticipated to reaffirm the importance of strengthening connectivity and logistical infrastructure, notably through the Trans-Caspian East-West-Middle Corridor.

The parties will also exchange views on current developments, including Afghanistan, Iran, and Palestine.

Türkiye-Kazakhstan relations

Türkiye–Kazakhstan relations are conducted effectively and on a regular basis at the bilateral level through institutional mechanisms, including the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC), the Joint Strategic Planning Group, the Joint Economic Commission, and political consultation mechanisms.

Foremost among these mechanisms was the fifth meeting of the Türkiye-Kazakhstan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, which was held in Ankara on July 29 of last year, under the co-chairmanship of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

During the meeting, the Decision of the Fifth Meeting of the Türkiye-Kazakhstan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council and the Joint Statement of the Fifth Meeting of the Türkiye-Kazakhstan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council were signed by both Erdogan and Tokayev.

The parties also signed 20 deals on education, energy, mining, transportation, communications, banking, free economic zones, artificial intelligence and space, science and technology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, health, urban planning, and justice.

Kazakhstan is Türkiye's largest trading partner in Central Asia. The total bilateral trade volume reached $8.95 billion as of January-November 2025.

Currently, more than 3,000 Turkish-owned companies operate across various sectors of the Kazakh economy.

Turkish entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan are primarily prominent in the food sector, mining, agriculture, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, construction, hospitality, and manufacturing.

After Russia and Iraq, Kazakhstan is Türkiye's third-largest oil supplier.

The energy cooperation between the countries focuses particularly on areas such as oil, natural gas, renewable energy, and logistics-energy transportation.

Türkiye is one of the largest investors in Kazakhstan's non-energy sectors. As of 2025, Türkiye's investments in Kazakhstan have totaled approximately $5.8 billion.

* Written by Serdar Dincel