Kazakhstan, UAE expand aviation and trade ties: UAE-based aviation company TerminalsHolding signed a USD 1.1 bn investment agreement with Kazakhstan’s Transportation Ministry to expand the airport in its capital Astana, according to a statement from Kazakhstan’s government. The long-term agreement will see Terminal Holdings build a second runway, a new cargo terminal, and a third passenger terminal. No timeline for the new developments has been given.

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The background: The agreement builds on a 2023 preliminary agreement, according to the Kazakh government’s website. It comes as part of Kazakhstan’s broader push to attract foreign investment to its aviation infrastructure, with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasizing the need for private capital to position Kazakhstan as a regional transit hub between China and Russia.

ALSO- Kazakhstani national railway company Temir Zholy has dispatched its first wheat shipment to the UAE’s Jebel Ali Port via a new logistics corridor, according to a press release. Facilitated by cargo trader IK Trading, the cargo traveled through Turkmenistan and Iran, with transshipment at Bandar Abbas before continuing by sea to the UAE. The average journey time is 18 days.

1 in 5 bn: These agreements come just a day after the UAE and Kazakhstan signed USD 5 bn worth of MoUs covering energy, AI, infrastructure, and logistics. The agreements include a round-the-clock energy project from Masdar and Kazakh sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, a collaboration with AIQ on Kazakhstan’s oil and gas sector efficiency, and #1- an agreement between AD Ports Group and Kazmortransflot to expand capacity for their container shipping partnership in the Caspian Sea.

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