(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 1. Many countries in
Eurasia will benefit from the development of the Trans-Caspian
International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor),
Ambassador of Switzerland to Kazakhstan Salman Bal told Trend in an exclusive interview.
Trade between Switzerland and Kazakhstan
The dynamics in the trade relations between Switzerland and
Kazakhstan are good, and the trend is positive.
In 2022, Switzerland's exports to Kazakhstan reached 357 million
Swiss francs. The main share of the exports were pharmaceuticals
(65 percent), followed by watches and precision instruments (19
percent) and machines (6 percent).
In the first 8 months of 2023, we noticed an increase of 6
percent in Swiss exports to Kazakhstan.
Switzerland's imports from Kazakhstan reached 344 million Swiss
francs in 2022 and consisted mainly of energy sources (excluding
gold trade).
Swiss support for Kazakhstan's energy sector, including
green energy
Switzerland attracts many international commodities trading
firms, although it is not a major player in the oil and gas
business. Nonetheless, numerous Swiss companies specialize in
specific areas, such as laboratory equipment for analysis and
measurement equipment for oil and gas operations.
Swiss innovations and know-how, in particular, can be applied in
the petrochemical and chemical industries.
Switzerland fully supports Kazakhstan's efforts to increase and
grow its renewable energy capacity.
The Republic of Kazakhstan Member of the Swiss constituency
group of the WB/IMF and at GEF, the Global Environment Facility.
Within these organizations, but also within other multilateral
entities, green energy cooperation is high on the agenda.
All in all, the green energy sector is a field in which the
Swiss government and Swiss companies are very active.
Benefits of the Middle Corridor and Transport
Cooperation
Since becoming independent, the Republic of Kazakhstan has made
enormous investments to reconstruct and develop its local rail and
road networks. More than 2,500 km of new railway lines were
constructed in the last 30 years, which is an impressive
achievement!
At a very early stage, Kazakhstan recognized its potential as a
transit country, for example, with endeavors such as the Western
China-Western Europe and Nurly Zhol projects.
Switzerland is similar to Kazakhstan in the sense that both are
landlocked countries and natural“transportation hubs” on their
continents.
The crossing route over the St. Gotthard linking Northern and
Southern Europe, for example, was crucial for Switzerland's
development. And this question is still significant today: some of
the longest tunnels in the world were built in Switzerland to
improve European transport routes and to connect Switzerland with
the world.
Most of our country's history revolves around the fact that it
connects Europe on both the north-south and west-east axes, a fact
that we keep in mind by continuously developing our road and rail
network.
In an analogous way, it is certain that many countries in
Eurasia will benefit from the development of the Middle
Corridor.
Attracting Swiss companies to the Kazakh
market
Switzerland's businesses operate in a wide range of industries.
We see significant promise in a variety of areas. It is critical to
describe the Kazakh market and its unique opportunities for the
Swiss private sector.
The majority of Swiss companies are small and medium-sized
enterprises; although being world leaders in their respective
sectors of operation, they frequently lack the means to assess the
prospects of distant new markets.
This is where our Embassy comes in: our duty is to assist Swiss
companies in understanding the nuances of the Kazakh economy.
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