Kazakhstan today is one of Central Asia’s most dynamic economic hubs. The country is developing new transport corridors, strengthening its financial infrastructure, and investing heavily in digital transformation. Cyprus has an opportunity to play an active role in fostering closer ties between Kazakhstan and the European Union. For Cyprus’s professional services sector, Central Asia represents a promising new market, a reliable channel for investment, and a chance to support Kazakhstan in building new international partnerships. During a recent working visit to Almaty, the Cyprus-based Successful Business Leaders Club (SBL Club) took practical steps toward strengthening business relationships between entrepreneurs from the two countries.
A month ago, the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, paid his first official visit to Kazakhstan. At the time, Cyprus held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, making the visit particularly symbolic and fully aligned with the EU’s broader strategy of deepening cooperation with Kazakhstan. This article explores the shared business interests and opportunities between the two countries, drawing on the author’s three business visits to Astana and Almaty.
On 29–30 June, a delegation from the Cyprus-based Successful Business Leaders Club (SBL Club) visited Kazakhstan for the second time. This provided an opportunity not only to assess the progress made since the previous visit – from September 2025 to June 2026 – but also to gain a deeper understanding of the country’s rapidly evolving economy.
The Kazakh government is actively pursuing economic diversification. While natural resources have historically been the primary driver of economic growth, the country is now focusing on value-added manufacturing, transport infrastructure, artificial intelligence research, and the development of a sophisticated financial ecosystem for international business. Its strategic objective is to transition from a resource-based economy to a more balanced growth model in which infrastructure investment and diversified sources of public and private income play a central role in GDP growth.
Kazakhstan’s economy expanded by 6.5% in 2025. During the first five months of 2026, growth moderated to 3.7% following a temporary decline in oil production caused by an accident at one of the country’s production facilities. At the same time, the services sector, transport, construction, and manufacturing all increased their contribution to the economy. The International Monetary Fund projects GDP growth of approximately 4.6% for 2026. Inflation, however, remains elevated, reaching 10.4% year-on-year in May 2026 according to IMF data. As a result, careful risk assessment remains a critical factor for businesses operating in Kazakhstan.
This is an area where Cyprus can offer significant value. Cyprus has decades of experience in structuring international companies and investment funds, providing legal and tax advisory services, supporting international investors, managing cross-border risks, and assisting Kazakh companies in expanding into European markets.
By 2029, Kazakhstan aims to attract an additional US$120 billion in investment, bringing total investment for the 2025–2029 period to US$400 billion. Priority sectors include natural resource and agricultural processing, metallurgy, rare earth minerals, petrochemicals, natural gas, and pharmaceuticals. Around 90% of this financing is expected to come from private capital and public-private partnerships.
Cyprus has extensive expertise in supporting investment into emerging markets. Since the early 1990s, Cypriot advisers have helped structure international investment flows, support cross-border transactions, assess risks, and protect investors’ assets.
One of the answers to the question, «What do Cyprus and Kazakhstan have in common?» is that both countries have successfully leveraged their geographic location as a strategic driver of economic growth.
One of Kazakhstan’s most ambitious initiatives is the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), better known as the Middle Corridor. The project is already taking shape, creating a trade route linking China and Central Asia with Europe via Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. In June 2026, the European Investment Bank announced a €150 million loan to rehabilitate roads in Kazakhstan along this corridor, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development committed up to €230 million to modernize the Aktobe–Ulgaysyn highway section.
Kazakhstan is systematically building a modern technology ecosystem through initiatives such as Astana Hub, Alem.AI, high-performance computing infrastructure, startup acceleration programmes, and the expansion of IT service exports. According to Astana Hub, resident companies generated more than US$1.7 billion in combined revenue in 2025 and created over 32,000 jobs. Their products and services were exported to 111 countries, with Cyprus specifically listed among their international markets.
During the visit, members of the SBL Club delegation were particularly impressed by the high level of digitalisation of public services and Kazakhstan’s serious commitment to the development of artificial intelligence. The country is investing in data centres, deploying supercomputing capabilities, and training specialists to implement AI solutions across government, the oil and gas sector, energy, transport, logistics, and agriculture.
Another key pillar of Kazakhstan’s economic strategy is the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). Operating as an independent jurisdiction based on the principles of English common law, the AIFC has positioned itself as a regional platform for investors, investment funds, fintech companies, and international projects across Central Asia.
This is particularly relevant for Cyprus. As Cyprus also operates under a legal system rooted in English common law, Cypriot legal and financial professionals can bring valuable expertise to the AIFC and to the International Arbitration Centre that operates within its framework. Several SBL Club member companies are already registered within the AIFC ecosystem, and that number is expected to grow.
To date, the AIFC has facilitated US$21.8 billion in investment and is home to more than 5,700 companies from 90 countries. Cyprus has also established a strong presence in Kazakhstan: between 2005 and 2025, approximately US$5.4 billion in investment flowed into Kazakhstan through Cyprus, while more than 400 companies with Cypriot participation are currently operating in the country.
On 29–30 June, the SBL Club delegation visited Almaty on its second business mission to Kazakhstan. During our previous visit in September 2025, we travelled to both Astana and Almaty, holding meetings with a wide range of public and private organisations to better understand the priorities and needs of Kazakhstan’s business community.
This time, our visit was hosted by one of Almaty’s leading business associations, with which we signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The organisation arranged a series of meetings designed to move our dialogue beyond general discussions of cooperation and toward specific business initiatives and practical joint projects.
SBL Club's partners in Almaty – the Atameken Business Club – introduced the delegation to the leaders of key industry associations representing trade, import and export, investment, construction, and the legal sector.
In addition, we already had an established network of business leaders in Almaty with whom we had remained in contact between visits. We invited them to a dedicated networking session to introduce them to the members of our delegation and to hold a brainstorming discussion on how the business communities of Kazakhstan and Cyprus could better support one another through practical cooperation and joint initiatives.
Meeting with Business Leaders
As part of the visit, we once again toured the project office of the new city of Alatau, giving those members of the delegation who were visiting Almaty for the first time an opportunity to appreciate the scale and ambition of this landmark development.
Presentation on Alatau, the New Million-Person City Under Development Near Almaty
The visit delivered far more than a deeper understanding of Kazakhstan’s business environment and an extensive programme of meetings. Based on our discussions with local entrepreneurs, we identified a number of areas where cooperation could generate tangible value for both countries.
These include investment advisory and legal services, supporting Kazakh companies in expanding into the European Union through Cyprus, financial services, construction, trade, import and export operations, professional education, technology, and the development of long-term business partnerships.
Equally important was the fact that these discussions took place directly with business owners and senior executives – the people who make strategic decisions within their companies and organisations.
The two countries differ significantly in scale. Kazakhstan’s population is approximately twenty times larger than that of Cyprus, and its overall GDP is several times greater. Cyprus, however, has a substantially higher GDP per capita. According to the World Bank, Cyprus has a GDP of US$41.23 billion and a GDP per capita of US$41,783, while Kazakhstan’s GDP stands at US$306.24 billion, with GDP per capita of US$14,692.
Kazakhstan is pursuing an independent economic strategy aimed at establishing itself as an indispensable Eurasian hub for transport, natural resources, energy, digital technologies, finance, and international trade.
Cyprus, in turn, can serve as a trusted European gateway – offering expertise in corporate and investment fund structuring, professional services, access to EU markets, international arbitration, fintech, education, and tourism.
Sector-Focused Meetings in Small Working Groups
Cyprus needs stronger connections with the fast-growing economies of Central Asia, while Kazakhstan is looking for a reliable partner within the European Union. It is precisely at this intersection of interests that the SBL Club is building direct, peer-to-peer relationships between business owners.
Face-to-face dialogue provides insights that cannot be gained from statistics or official presentations alone. If you would like to join our efforts to strengthen business ties and identify new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation, please contact us at [email protected].
Natalia Kardash
Chair of the SBL Club
SBL Club delegation meeting with business leaders in Almaty
