Kazakhstan Global Investment Roundtable: A New Economic Pivot for Eurasia Under Key Minerals and Green Transition

The 8th Global Investment Roundtable, held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, in October 2025, marked a significant moment in the Eurasian economic agenda. The conference brought together over a thousand participants from 55 countries, resulting in the signing of 49 investment agreements worth a total of US$7.5 billion. The Kazakh government explicitly identified key mineral resource development and green energy transition as the twin engines for attracting global capital, demonstrating its strategic determination to transcend its traditional role as a raw material supplier and transform into a high-value-added industrial production center. These developments, placed against the backdrop of global supply chain restructuring and energy transition, highlight the growing strategic importance of Central Asia's largest economy in the regional and global economic landscape.

I. From Resource Export to Value Chain Upgrading: A Strategic Path to Economic Diversification

Since its independence in 1991, Kazakhstan has established itself as a major global supplier of raw materials, thanks to its abundant oil, natural gas, and uranium resources. However, its economic structure, overly reliant on resource exports, makes it vulnerable to fluctuations in international commodity prices. Therefore, promoting economic diversification has become a long-term national strategy. In recent years, this strategy has further focused on two interconnected trends: the huge demand for key minerals driven by the accelerated global green transition, and the demand for supply chain diversification driven by geopolitical changes.

Key minerals, such as rare earth elements, lithium, cobalt, and copper used in batteries, renewable energy technologies, and electronics, have become strategic resources fiercely contested by major global economies. Kazakhstan possesses the world's largest uranium reserves and production, while also boasting abundant reserves of key minerals such as rare earths, copper, titanium, vanadium, and phosphorus. This roundtable discussion highlights Kazakhstan's blueprint for transforming these resource advantages into industrial development advantages. The goal is not only to export raw materials but also to attract investment to establish a complete industrial chain domestically, encompassing exploration, mining, processing, and even final product manufacturing, thereby increasing the added value of resources and deeply integrating into the global green technology supply chain.

This transformation complements Kazakhstan's own green economy agenda. Kazakhstan has set ambitious carbon reduction targets, planning to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Developing renewable energy (such as wind and solar power), improving energy efficiency, and promoting green technology innovation are not only necessary for domestic sustainable development, but also provide a market for the local application of its key mineral resources and attract international capital focused on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards. Several agreements reached during the meeting, covering areas such as mineral resource development, clean energy projects, and green technology cooperation, reflect international investors' recognition of Kazakhstan's strategic direction.

II. Institutional Guarantees and Investment Environment Optimization: Building a Regional Investment Hub

Attracting investment in high-value-added industries requires more than just resource endowment; a stable, transparent, and predictable business environment is also essential. In recent years, the Kazakh government has been continuously promoting in-depth reforms aimed at creating a more attractive investment hub.

One of the core measures is the introduction of the "Investment Agreement" mechanism. For large projects with investments exceeding US$60 million, this agreement provides legislative stability guarantees for up to 25 years, locking in key conditions such as taxation and legal regulations at the project's inception, effectively preventing non-commercial risks arising from future policy changes. This system provides strong certainty for capital-intensive, long-term return projects, particularly suitable for mining development, large-scale manufacturing, and infrastructure sectors. Systemic modernization of the legal framework is another pillar. Reforms to procurement procedures have improved the transparency and efficiency of public project tenders, reducing opportunities for rent-seeking. Judicial system reforms, through measures such as establishing independent courts of appeal and redefining the functions of the Supreme Court, aim to enhance judicial independence, professionalism, and consistency of judgments, thereby strengthening investor confidence in dispute resolution mechanisms. The World Bank's Doing Business 2025 report is expected to reflect the positive impact of these reforms.

These efforts have received positive responses from international rating agencies. In 2024, Moody's Investors Service upgraded Kazakhstan's long-term credit rating to its highest level ever, explicitly citing improved macroeconomic stability and policy predictability as key factors. The improved rating has reduced financing costs for the Kazakh government and businesses in international markets, further enhancing its attractiveness to foreign investment. Macroeconomic data for the first nine months of 2025 provides strong evidence: GDP growth of 6.3% and fixed asset investment growth of 13.5% to $26 billion both demonstrate strong economic vitality and investment-driven effects.

III. Opportunities and Positioning in a Global Perspective: A Bridge Connecting East and West

Kazakhstan's investment appeal stems not only from its internal reforms and resource endowments but also from its unique geoeconomic position within a changing global landscape.

First, against the backdrop of risk mitigation and supply chain diversification, major economies, particularly in Europe and North America, are seeking to reduce their reliance on single sources of certain key minerals. As a resource-rich, politically stable country committed to aligning with international standards, Kazakhstan has become a strong contender for alternative sources. Its location connecting Eurasia facilitates the transport of products to European and Asia-Pacific markets via land routes and the Trans-Caspian Sea route.

Second, Kazakhstan pursues a balanced multilateral diplomacy, maintaining positive and pragmatic cooperative relationships with Russia, China, the EU, the US, Turkey, and the Gulf states. This allows it to attract diverse investments and technologies from multiple sources, avoiding over-reliance on any single area. For example, while maintaining traditional cooperation with Russia and China in the energy and infrastructure sectors, it is also actively expanding cooperation with partners such as the EU, South Korea, and Turkey in areas such as green technology and key mineral processing. The upcoming "C5+1" summit between the United States and Central Asian countries also foreshadows greater economic interactions among major powers in Central Asia, potentially offering Kazakhstan more cooperation options.

Furthermore, as a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, Kazakhstan's products enjoy tariff-free access within the union (including Russia and Belarus), providing a sizable integrated market for companies investing and establishing factories in Kazakhstan. Simultaneously, Kazakhstan's active participation in connectivity projects under China's "Belt and Road" Initiative is a key component. This "multi-membership" status strengthens its position as a connectivity hub across Eurasia.

IV. Challenges and Future Outlook

Despite the positive outlook, Kazakhstan's economic transformation still faces challenges. Uncertainty surrounding global economic growth may affect investment intentions and commodity demand. Domestically, enhancing local technological capabilities and human resource levels to meet the demands of high-value-added industries is a long-term task. Infrastructure, particularly logistics networks related to mineral processing and export, still requires continuous upgrading. In addition, refined governance is needed to balance economic development with environmental protection and ensure the equitable distribution of resource benefits.

Looking ahead, Kazakhstan's strategic direction and reform commitment, demonstrated through platforms such as the Global Investment Roundtable, have earned it a more prominent position on the international investment map. Its success will depend on its ability to continuously optimize its business environment, efficiently translate signed investment intentions into implemented projects, and effectively manage internal and external risks in the process. If this progress continues, Kazakhstan is expected not only to achieve its own economic transformation and upgrading, but also to play an indispensable role in building a more resilient and sustainable supply chain of critical minerals and green technologies across Eurasia, becoming a crucial hub connecting East and West in terms of capital, technology, and markets. Its development path also provides a valuable reference case for the transformation of other resource-based economies.