Germany's Scholz in Kazakhstan to extend economic ties, oil supplies

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday visited Kazakhstan for talks on developing economic ties, on the second leg of his three-day trip to Central Asia.

In the Kazakh capital Astana, Scholz met President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, with petroleum deliveries and an extension of bilateral relations on the agenda.

Scholz said he would "do everything to improve possibilities for economic relations," calling for "continuous collaboration" in the raw materials sector.

Kazakhstan is Germany's third largest supplier of oil after Norway and the United States.

Around 11.7% of German petroleum is sourced from the Central Asian giant, which has stepped in to replace Russian deliveries since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, especially to the vital PCK processing plant in the eastern German state of Brandenburg near Berlin.

During Scholz's visit, which followed his trip to Uzbekistan on Sunday, the two countries struck a deal to extend and increase deliveries beyond the end of 2024. According to government sources, the country supplied around 1 million tons of crude oil to PCK last year. For the current year, a total of 1.4 million tons is planned.

On the sidelines of the visit, an extension of these deliveries beyond the end of 2024 was agreed upon. Kazakhstan's contract partners are the German subsidiaries of the Russian state-owned company Rosneft. They hold the majority stake in PCK, although they are currently under trusteeship.

Rosneft spokesman Burkhard Woelki told dpa that the contract with Kazakhstan has been extended for an oil delivery of 100,000 tons per month until the end of 2025. Woelki added that it is possible to obtain more, and this would be arranged flexibly.

"The German government welcomes the continued supply of the PCK refinery beyond 2024," said a government spokesman. "We thank Kazakhstan for its support."

Tokayev said the meeting was bringing relations between Germany and Kazakhstan to a "new level."

"Our bilateral cooperation will be expanded in the spirit of a strategic partnership," he added.

Further agreements were signed to extend cooperation between the National Bank of Kazakhstan and Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, to establish an institute for science and technology at the German-Kazakh University in the eastern metropolis of Almaty, and to set up a German-language school in the country.

Kazakhstan, with a population of 20 million, is the ninth largest country in the world and Germany's most important economic partner in Central Asia.

The country has enjoyed above-average economic growth in recent years, due in part to trade with its neighbours Russia and China.

The German government is interested not only in oil but also in Kazakhstan's gas reserves and, in the long term, in hydrogen derived from renewable energy sources. The authoritarian-led country also has reserves of uranium, iron ore, zinc, copper and gold.

Like other authoritarian-led states in the region, Kazakhstan has attracted criticism over violations of human rights, with freedom of the press and freedom of expression heavily restricted.

A previously planned joint press conference after Scholz's meeting with Tokayev was abruptly cancelled at short notice by the Kazakh side.

In Uzbekistan, the first stop on the chancellor's three-day trip, no joint press conference was planned from the outset.

There was one potential area of conflict that emerged during the trip when Tokayev described Russia as "invincible" and called for swift peace negotiations in the Ukraine war, according to Kazakh news agencies.

Scholz emphasized that Germany will continue to support Ukraine in defending itself against the Russian aggressors. At the same time, he reiterated that he would be in favour of a peace conference involving Russia. Now is the time to see what can be done, Scholz said. However, he added, Russia must contribute by ceasing its aggression.

Scholz has been openly advocating for a peace process since the end of August. In June, 93 countries met for a first peace conference in Switzerland, to which Russia was not invited, and which was boycotted by Russia's key ally China. The follow-up conference is now supposed to include Russia. However, the location and date have not been set yet.

The former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan shares a more than 7,600-kilometre-long land border with Russia and is closely intertwined with the great power. At the same time, the country is seeking closer ties with Western states.