Singapore keen to build on goodwill, deepen ties with Kazakhstan: SM Lee

ASTANA – Singapore wants to build on the goodwill it enjoys in Kazakhstan and deepen ties in areas ranging from business to connectivity, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said as he wrapped up his first visit to the Central Asian country.Lee said on Aug 27 that Singapore’s relationship with Kazakhstan was “an account well worth cultivating”, with Singapore companies showing growing interest in the country and trade and investments increasing significantly in recent years.“We enjoy a lot of goodwill,” he told Singapore media in a doorstop interview at the St. Regis Astana Hotel, noting that Kazakhstan remembers warmly founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s first visit in September 1991, three months before the country became an independent republic.One area where Lee saw room for improvement was connectivity. He said Kazakh businesses had cited the lack of direct flights between Singapore and either Astana, the capital, or Almaty, its largest city, as an obstacle to closer links.“It’s something which we would look at, and we would encourage SIA to look at,” he said. “I hope there’s a business case at some point.”Lee noted Kazakhstan’s growing winter tourism industry as one potential source of demand. The country is developing the Shymbulak ski resort near Almaty as it prepares to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029.Singaporeans are keen on winter sports and travel to Japan, South Korea and China to ski, he said, adding that further development of the resort in the next few years would bring more business.Growing business interestBeyond connectivity, Lee said Singapore companies were showing growing interest in Kazakhstan, with trade and investments rising significantly in recent years.Singapore firms in sectors ranging from law and logistics to education and venture capital are already present in the country, Lee said, adding that PSA International and Changi Airport Group are also there.“There will be these opportunities where the Kazakhs are building their economy, and our firms can participate in this,” Lee said.Kazakhstan is Singapore’s largest trading partner in Central Asia. Bilateral trade in goods amounted to $326.6 million, while trade in services was $159 million. Singapore’s stock of direct investment in Kazakhstan stood at $2.1 billion, with 158 Singapore overseas affiliates operating there.Lee said the physical distance means direct trade and investment may not be enormous. “But if we are talking about services trade, or talking about investments, doing business in each other’s countries, there is good potential,” he noted.Another potential area of cooperation is the Middle Corridor, a route connecting China, via Central Asia and the Caspian Sea, to Europe.Lee said that the route would complement, rather than replace, maritime routes between Asia and Europe, given the vastly different costs and volumes involved.The Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, commonly known as the Middle Corridor, carried about 4.5 million tonnes of goods in 2024, up 62 per cent from the year before, according to the OECD.Singapore could contribute logistics, transportation management and IT expertise, he said, citing the possibility of PSA International helping to make operations along the corridor smoother.“It’s an advantage to them. It’s business for us,” he said.A relationship between the two countries would offer broader strategic advantages, Lee said. While Kazakhstan is vast in land area, it has a population of about 20 million, making both countries relatively small in the international scheme of things.Small and medium-sized countries need to work together to support a rules-based international system rather than one governed by “might is right” arrangements, he said.Lee also noted parallels between how Singapore and Kazakhstan navigate their respective regions.Kazakhstan has two much larger neighbours, Russia to the north and China to the east. Singapore, meanwhile, understands what it means to be a small country that seeks to maintain friendly relations with its neighbours while pursuing its own course.“We understand what it is we need to do in order to keep on friendly terms with our neighbours and yet maintain a consistent direction so that people find us trustworthy, reliable, and something they can depend on and are happy to do business with,” he said.“We compared notes on this.”Aside from doing business in South-east Asia, Kazakhstan is also looking to deepen its links with the region more broadly. Lee has previously said that Singapore, which will assume the ASEAN chair in 2027, will create more opportunities for ASEAN to engage with partners beyond its traditional networks.When asked about prospects for closer engagement with the grouping, Lee noted that Kazakhstan was “very serious” about joining the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC).The TAC is a regional pact that sets out principles for peaceful relations and cooperation, and accession is a prerequisite for formal partnerships with ASEAN.He said there was a process underway for Kazakhstan to join the treaty, adding: “I hope it will reach a good conclusion and not take too long.”Desire for progressDuring Lee’s visit from Aug 24 to 27, he met President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and other senior Kazakh leaders, as well as business representatives in Almaty.He was also conferred Kazakhstan’s Order of Dostyk, or Order of Friendship, First Class, by Tokayev on Aug 26.On Aug 27, Lee delivered a lecture at Nazarbayev University in Astana, where he was conferred an honorary professorship.Reflecting on his first visit to Kazakhstan, Lee said he was impressed by the country’s “energy” and “determination” to make progress in a complicated world, through investments in education, IT and artificial intelligence.He also pointed to Kazakhstan’s considerable mineral and energy resources, with extractive industries accounting for about a quarter of its economy. If the country could complement these resources with its human talent, “I think they have many things going for them”, he said.“The impression is that these are people who know what they want, and who are moving quite fast to get there,” Lee added.