Kazakhstan's Relationship with Australia
According to the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Kazakhstan has a modest but stable relationship. Australia celebrated 20 years of diplomatic relations with Kazakhstan in 2012. Embassies opened in both countries closed soon after opening due to resource constraints.
At the 2006 census, 649 Australian residents declared that they were born in Kazakhstan.
A number of high-level visits have taken place between Australia and Kazakhstan, including Kazakhstan's then Prime Minister, Sergey Tereshchenko, visiting Australia in 1993, President Nazarbayev visiting Australia in 1996, and former Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd visiting Astana in December 2010.
The two governments signed an Agreement on Economic and Commercial Cooperation, which came into force on June 2 2004, This agreement aims to facilitate investment, trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. Australia concluded a bilateral market access agreement on goods and services with Kazakhstan in 2008 as part of Kazakhstan's World Trade Organisation accession process.
Despite Kazakhstan being Australia's leading trading partner in Central Asia, the level of trade between Australia and Kazakhstan remains modest. Australia's exports to Kazakhstan in 2011, worth A$22.7 million, consisted mainly of live animals, beef, goods, vehicles and hand or machine tools. Imports from Kazakhstan in the same year, worth A$6.7 million, consisted mainly of pig iron.
Australian investment in Kazakhstan totaled A$73 million in 2011. Several Australian companies are active in Kazakhstan. Some of these companies are WorleyParsons, Orica, Ausenco, Jupiter Energy, Gloria Jean's Coffees, Rio Tinto and the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC). Additionally, Macquarie Group has an interest in Kazakhstan through its $530 million Macquarie Renaissance Infrastructure Fund (MRIF).
An area of considerable potential for cooperation is agriculture. The Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics in Adelaide is linking with the Kazakhstan Government on wheat and barley genetics. The two parties have signed a memorandum of understanding, which will see greater collaboration between Kazakh and Australian scientists working on salinity, drought, nutrient deficiencies and toxicity affecting cereal crops in both countries.
Opportunities also exist for Australia to increase its share of the education market in Kazakhstan. The Kazakh Government's "Bolashak" International Scholarship Program has seen approximately 50 scholarship recipients study in Australia each year since 2007. In 2013 there were 89 Kazakh nationals enrolled to study in Australia. The Melbourne School of Engineering (University of Melbourne) has been involved in course development at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan's capital.
At the 2006 census, 649 Australian residents declared that they were born in Kazakhstan.
A number of high-level visits have taken place between Australia and Kazakhstan, including Kazakhstan's then Prime Minister, Sergey Tereshchenko, visiting Australia in 1993, President Nazarbayev visiting Australia in 1996, and former Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd visiting Astana in December 2010.
The two governments signed an Agreement on Economic and Commercial Cooperation, which came into force on June 2 2004, This agreement aims to facilitate investment, trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. Australia concluded a bilateral market access agreement on goods and services with Kazakhstan in 2008 as part of Kazakhstan's World Trade Organisation accession process.
Despite Kazakhstan being Australia's leading trading partner in Central Asia, the level of trade between Australia and Kazakhstan remains modest. Australia's exports to Kazakhstan in 2011, worth A$22.7 million, consisted mainly of live animals, beef, goods, vehicles and hand or machine tools. Imports from Kazakhstan in the same year, worth A$6.7 million, consisted mainly of pig iron.
Australian investment in Kazakhstan totaled A$73 million in 2011. Several Australian companies are active in Kazakhstan. Some of these companies are WorleyParsons, Orica, Ausenco, Jupiter Energy, Gloria Jean's Coffees, Rio Tinto and the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC). Additionally, Macquarie Group has an interest in Kazakhstan through its $530 million Macquarie Renaissance Infrastructure Fund (MRIF).
An area of considerable potential for cooperation is agriculture. The Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics in Adelaide is linking with the Kazakhstan Government on wheat and barley genetics. The two parties have signed a memorandum of understanding, which will see greater collaboration between Kazakh and Australian scientists working on salinity, drought, nutrient deficiencies and toxicity affecting cereal crops in both countries.
Opportunities also exist for Australia to increase its share of the education market in Kazakhstan. The Kazakh Government's "Bolashak" International Scholarship Program has seen approximately 50 scholarship recipients study in Australia each year since 2007. In 2013 there were 89 Kazakh nationals enrolled to study in Australia. The Melbourne School of Engineering (University of Melbourne) has been involved in course development at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan's capital.