Indonesia, Kazakhstan seek to expand trade ahead of Prabowo's visit

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia and Kazakhstan are preparing to strengthen bilateral cooperation through more than 20 agreements ahead of President Prabowo Subianto's planned state visit to the Central Asian country in 2027, Kazakhstan's Ambassador to Indonesia, Serzhan Abdykarimov, said.

He said preparations for the visit were among the main objectives of Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Anis Matta's working visit to Kazakhstan last June, during which he met with several Kazakhstani officials.

"The Deputy Minister's visit to Kazakhstan is also preparing for the upcoming state visit of the President, His Excellency Prabowo Subianto, to Kazakhstan next year," Abdykarimov said at the third meeting of the Kazakhstan-Indonesia Friendship Society, hosted by the Kazakhstani Embassy in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Beyond preparations for Prabowo's visit, Matta also focused on strengthening ties between the two countries and identifying new opportunities for bilateral cooperation, the ambassador said.

The Kazakhstani government is also preparing a package of more than 20 bilateral agreements covering trade, investment, digitalization, tourism, education, and other sectors, Abdykarimov said.

Kazakhstan also expects a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and Kazakhstan's Chamber of Commerce to be signed during the visit.

"The MoU will establish an effective partnership and a bilateral business council," he added.

If the visit takes place as planned, it would mark the fourth meeting between Prabowo and Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev since 2026. The two leaders have met three times over the past year on the sidelines of major international events: the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, the Board of Peace summit in Washington in February, and the BRICS summit in New Delhi in September.

Abdykarimov said bilateral trade currently stood at around US$250 million. Although the figure was encouraging, he said there was considerable room to expand trade between the two countries.

He expressed optimism that the free trade agreement between Indonesia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), signed last year, would significantly strengthen trade ties with Kazakhstan, an EAEU member.

The ambassador also highlighted opportunities to expand cooperation in trade and investment, transport and logistics, energy, mining, digitalization, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.

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Translator: Nabil Ihsan
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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