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In early April, the EU launched a brand new initiative, the Minerals Safety Partnership Discussion board, meant to function a platform for cooperation between suppliers and customers of essential uncooked supplies. Kazakhstan’s inclusion among the many key companions of the discussion board underscores the rising significance of the partnership between Brussels and Astana within the essential mineral house. To succeed in the total potential of European and Kazakh collaboration, reliability and predictability from each side is essential.
The strategic significance of essential uncooked supplies reminiscent of lithium, uranium, copper, and uncommon earth components has grown quickly lately, owing to their indispensable function in facilitating the inexperienced transition. Projections point out that the demand for these supplies will proceed to surge within the forthcoming a long time. To realize international net-zero emissions by 2050, the world will want six instances extra mineral inputs by 2040 in comparison with present ranges. Because the competitors for these minerals intensifies and issues about provide chain safety develop, efforts to safe secure and diversified sources change into more and more necessary. On this context, the partnership between the EU and Kazakhstan emerges as a key driver of financial safety and prosperity for each events.
In my capability as Kazakhstan’s Minister for Business and Development, I strongly imagine that essential uncooked supplies will play an indispensable function in propelling our nation’s industrial growth, financial progress and transition to extra renewable sources of vitality. As a number one producer of those sources – together with half of the essential minerals very important to the EU economic system – Kazakhstan holds a pivotal function in driving important local weather motion initiatives in Brussels and past. As Minister, I’m absolutely devoted to realising and maximising this potential for the good thing about our nation and our companions world wide.
For the EU, cooperation with Kazakhstan affords a number of strategic benefits. Firstly, it helps to mitigate the EU’s dependence on a restricted variety of resource-rich international locations for essential uncooked supplies, lowering the danger of provide disruptions. Secondly, by diversifying its sources of provide, the EU can strengthen its strategic autonomy and resilience within the face of geopolitical uncertainties. Furthermore, collaboration with Kazakhstan opens avenues for funding and technological change, fostering financial progress and innovation in each areas.
For Kazakhstan, the EU represents a priceless companion on a number of fronts. The EU’s capability to put money into Kazakh industries not solely fuels financial progress but in addition bolsters the event of the infrastructure needed for the extraction and processing of those supplies. Furthermore, specialised technological experience possessed by many European corporations can considerably improve the effectivity and sustainability of Kazakhstan’s uncooked materials extraction processes. Most significantly, the EU has the potential to function a dependable and substantial marketplace for these essential uncooked supplies.
Past financial advantages, the partnership between the EU and Kazakhstan holds potential for advancing shared aims in sustainability, local weather motion, and accountable useful resource administration. By working collectively, the EU and Kazakhstan can promote environmentally sound practices within the extraction, processing, and recycling of essential uncooked supplies, contributing to international efforts to fight local weather change and protect environments for future generations.
The EU and Kazakhstan have already made important strides in enhancing cooperation. In 2022, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Brussels and Astana, specializing in strengthening collaboration in sustainable uncooked supplies, batteries, and renewable hydrogen worth chains. This encompasses joint efforts amongst industrial stakeholders to establish and execute mutually useful funding initiatives. Furthermore, the roadmap outlines plans for intensified cooperation in geological exploration, analysis, innovation and capability constructing. These discussions have continued since then, together with in a high-level occasion in March, which convened round 60 high-ranking EU officers and key representatives from the European enterprise group to discover alternatives for Kazakh-European cooperation in the important thing areas outlined within the MoU.
To totally unlock the potential of their partnership in essential uncooked supplies, the EU and Kazakhstan ought to prioritise predictable and dependable investments in sustainable growth and collaborative initiatives. This contains strengthening provide chains, conducting recent geological surveys, and fostering joint scientific analysis. With a concentrate on sustainable extraction and processing, together with abilities growth and technological innovation, each events can drive the inexperienced transition successfully.
In embracing this imaginative and prescient of mutual prosperity and environmental stewardship, the EU and Kazakhstan can lead by instance within the international transition in direction of a sustainable future. By nurturing their strategic partnership and fostering innovation, they’ll pave the best way for a world the place essential uncooked supplies are responsibly sourced, technological developments flourish, and borders change into bridges to shared progress.
[Photo by Paul Alain Hunt via Unsplash]
The views and opinions expressed on this article are these of the creator.
Kanat Sharlapaev is Kazakhstan’s Minister of Business and Development.
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