The UAE and Kazakhstan have inked USD 5 bn in MoUs spanning energy, infrastructure, AI, and logistics, after Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held official talks with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana, according to an Abu Dhabi Media Office statement. The talks came during Sheikh Khaled's visit to Kazakhstan, which started on Sunday, and the agreements were worth USD 5 bn, Foreign Trade Minister Thani Al Zeyoudi said on X.

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ENERGY-

#1- Masdar and Kazakh sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna will collaborate on a round-the-clock energy project with a base capacity of 500 MW and a battery energy storage system with a 2 GW capacity. This is not the first time Masdar links up with the sovereign wealth fund — the renewables giant signed an investment agreement last year with Kazakhstan’s government to develop a 1 GW wind farm in Kazakhstan alongside W Solar and Qazaq Green Power, owned by Samruk-Kazyna, and the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund. The two sides also ratified the MoU for the wind farm in Jambyl during the visit.

#2- Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) also inked an MoU with Samruk-Kazyna to support alternative energy, infrastructure, financial services, and green transition projects.

#3- AIQ, Adnoc and G42’s AI joint venture, and Samruk-Kazyna will collaborate on improving Kazakhstan’s oil and gas sector’s efficiency. National oil company QazaqGas will also work with AIQ on knowledge sharing using AI and advanced tech to improve its operational efficiency.

AI-

AI collaboration in the works: ADX-listed data analytics firm Presight AI will deliver two Nvidia H200 superpods for a new data center in Astana to support its smart city project.

ICYMI- In February, Presight signed a USD 190 mn agreement to develop an AI-powered smart city in Astana to digitize urban infrastructure and modernize public services.

PLUS- Presight opened its first overseas office in Kazakhstan: UAE-based big data and AI firm Presight opened a regional office in Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a statement (pdf). Located at the Astana International Financial Center, the new office marks Presight’s first outside the UAE and will serve as a regional hub for Central Asia.

The office’s focus: The national team of over 40 employees will support major national projects from the office, including plans to establish an AI Command and Control Center at Alem AI to power smart city operations across mobility, energy, public safety, and infrastructure systems.

LOGISTICS-

#1- AD Ports Group and Kazmortransflot will expand their existing collaboration on container shipping in the Caspian Sea, adding another four vessels with a capacity of 780 20-foot equivalent units to support bilateral trade.

#2- The UAE’s Terminals Holding and Kazakhstan’s Transport Ministry also signed an agreement to improve aviation infrastructure, operational efficiency, as well as increase bilateral air services.

OTHER MoUs-

The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and the Turkestan Region Administration will build a maternity hospital in Turkestan, and the governments signed knowledge exchange and cooperation MoUs for the legal and transport sectors.

ICYMI- The UAE and Kazakhstan have been steadily deepening ties across different sectors. In April, the UAE and Kazakhstan’s central banks signed an MoU to boost cooperation on fintech, CBDCs, cybersecurity, and Islamic finance. Earlier this month, a new cross-border securities link was set up between Nasdaq Dubai and the Astana International Exchange.

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