Romania, Kazakhstan eyeing joint energy, industry, travel projects

Romania and Kazakhstan want to develop joint projects in the areas of energy, industry, tourism, transportation, IT, agriculture, research and education, according to talks at the 11th session of the Romanian-Kazakh Inter-governmental Committee on Economic and Technical and Scientific Cooperation.

Secretary of State with Romania's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Tourism Bogdan Pandelica

At the meeting in Bucharest, State Secretary with Romania's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Tourism Bogdan Pandelica and Kazakhstan's Deputy Minister of Energy Magzum Maratovich Mirzagaliev underscored the importance of high-level bilateral talks, while voicing a shared wish for development and diversification of the economic and commercial ties between the two countries, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Tourism (MECT) informs on Friday.

The two officials appreciated the rising trends in the bilateral trade, pointing to a 60-per-cent surge in Romanian exports to Kazakhstan in 2014. Identifying solutions to shrink the existing bilateral trade deficit was an important element in the conversation between the two officials. The need to boost the business communities of the two countries through mutual visits was also highlighted.

In 2014, Romania exported goods worth 84.3 million US dollars to Kazakhstan, up 60.4 per cent from the year before, while Kazakhstan exported to Romania goods worth in excess of 3.079 billion US dollars. Kazakh exports were up 29.4 per cent from 2013, which led to an overall increase by 30 per cent in the overall trade.

According to Romania's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Tourism, the balance of trade was 2.995 billion US dollars in deficit. Although Kazakh imports are significant in volume, they are made up of...