Anticipated to further boost relations between the two countries, President Nikos Christodoulides’ milestone visit to Kazakhstan will be the first for a Cypriot President.
Speaking to CBN and InBusinessNews, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Cyprus, Nikolay Zhumakanov, noted that MoUs were anticipated be signed in a number of sectors during the delegation’s time in Astana, which will also include business to business contacts and contacts between government officials.
The Ambassador underlined the importance of the visit, the most recent step in the steadily strengthening ties between the two countries.
“Diplomatic relations were established between Kazakhstan and Cyprus 34 years ago, in 1992. In 2024, there was a decision of reciprocal opening of the embassies, both in Nicosia and in Astana and so we came here in February last year,” he explained.
“While being here,” Zhumakanov continued, “I have been trying to find new opportunities and new areas of cooperation between our countries. And I see huge interest both from the Cypriot community and from the Kazakh community to develop relations, to know more about both countries.”
As His Excellency went on to note, “One of the main priorities for us was a direct connection between Kazakhstan and Cyprus. There was a decision from our national carrier, Air Astana, to open direct flights this year.”
The opening of the embassy has also played a great role in strengthening cooperation because now visas can be issued more smoothly and faster.
Returning to the President’s visit, Zhumakanov noted it would be the first ever visit of a President of Cyprus to Kazakhstan, “And, of course, we see that it is a huge milestone in the development of our cooperation.”
He pointed out that Christodoulides had actually visited Kazakhstan in 2019, but as the Foreign Minister of Cyprus.
During that visit the two countries have already signed a very important agreement on avoidance of double taxation, which contributed a lot to the development of the business cooperation in both countries, and the upcoming visit is anticipated to strengthen this cooperation even further.
“This visit is very important,” the Ambassador underlined, noting that the President of Cyprus will be accompanied by a team of government ministers for official contacts with officials in the Kazakh government.
“We see a good potential in cooperation in digital development. We also have good opportunities for cooperation in other sectors like transport and logistics. Again, with the opening of direct flights, trade may follow,” he went on to note.
As well as encouraging tourist flow between Cyprus and Kazakhstan, the direct flights are anticipated to make it easier for businesspeople to travel more quickly and easily through the new, direct, five-hour flights.
The Ambassador also sees good prospects for cooperation on Education between Cyprus and Kazakhstan.
The Ambassador also commented on the significant size of the business delegation accompanying Christodoulides, representing over 20 companies.
“We'll have a business forum on the margins of the Astana International Financial Center, which is the place and the platform where the companies can be registered and operate under the common law,” he noted.
As Zhumakanov suggested, this would be a particularly convenient location for European businesses interested in having headquarters for their activities not only in Kazakhstan, but throughout the Central Asian region.
“I think this visit and the business forum will open a gateway for the business people to have more B2B contacts with the delegation coming there and back,” he said, pointing out that there will also be another delegation of Cypriot businessmen to Kazakhstan by the end of June. “And after the visit, we will start working on a visit of a business delegation from Kazakhstan to Cyprus,” he added.
A recent event in Limassol, meanwhile, included the participation of the representatives of International Innovation Cluster AstanaHUB, as well as three startups from Kazakhstan.
As the Ambassador also underlined, having a resident embassy in Cyprus means that it is better placed to have direct input from the people, listen to their ideas and arrange communication between not only government ministers but also businesspeople.
He also anticipates more tourists coming to Cyprus from Kazakhstan. “The flights will start on the 2nd of June. They will initially be for the three summer months, but the company promised to evaluate whether it will be possible to have them for a longer period next year,” Zhumakanov added, encouraging the people of Cyprus to also visit Kazakhstan and experience the countries’ many attractions for themselves.
