Politics
Italy: Big firms to gain from new trade with Kazakhstan, says minister
Astana, 29 October (AKI) - By Josephine McKenna - Major Italian companies including Finmeccanica and ENI are among 13 leading firms that will benefit from new bilateral accords expected to be announced between Italy and Kazakhstan next week. Kazakhstan's president Nursultan Nazarbayev, is due to meet prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on a two-day visit to Italy on 4 November.
Kazakhstan's minister for foreign affairs, Kanat Saudabayev, told Adnkronos International in an exclusive interview in the Kazakh capital, Astana, that the trade accords would be accompanied by five bilateral agreements between the governments of the two countries.
"The meeting between the two leaders will define future bilateral cooperation for the people of Italy and Kazakhstan," Saudabayev told AKI.
He said Berlusconi and Nazarbayev were expected to endorse a strategic accord during the state visit.
"The documents that will be signed during this visit underscore the relationship between the two countries. I would say that our relations will move to a higher and more significant level."
Bilateral trade between the two countries totals around 13 billion dollars a year.
"Our collaboration with the 130 Italian businesses that operate in Kazakhstan is excellent."
Saudabayev said that Finmeccanica had signed an accord with Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund, Samruk-Kazyna, set up by the government to attract investment and development.
He said Finmeccanica, the Italian defence and transport company which has annual revenues of 22 million dollars, had also signed a deal with the Kazakh railways.
The minister said ENI, the oil and gas giant, had also signed an accord with Kazmunaigas, Kazakhstan's second largest oil producer which is developing 41 fields in the west of the country.
At the end of 2008, Kazmunaigas estimated its oil reserves to be 241 million tonnes (1,775 million barrels), with an estimated reserves life of 25 years at 2008 production levels.
ENI is one of seven major international oil companies, including ExxonMobile, Total, Shell and ConocoPhillips, that are currently developing the vast Kashagan oil field in the northern part of the Caspian Sea.
The Kashagan oil field is a complex industrial project - the largest oil discovery since Prudhoe Bay in Alaska 40 years ago.
The project includes the construction of "islands" in the Caspian Sea to enhance drilling and production.
With almost 35 billion barrels of oil in place, it is expected to reach a production plateau of 1.5 million barrels per day.
When completed Kashagan is expected to provide 10 percent of Europe's daily energy demand.
Kazakhstan has more than 16 million people and is the world's largest landlocked country with a total area of 2.7 million square kilometres - equal to the size of Western Europe.
President Nazarbayev previously met Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on a state visit to Italy in 1994.
Kazakstan will assume the presidency of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010.
Kazakhstan's minister for foreign affairs, Kanat Saudabayev, told Adnkronos International in an exclusive interview in the Kazakh capital, Astana, that the trade accords would be accompanied by five bilateral agreements between the governments of the two countries.
"The meeting between the two leaders will define future bilateral cooperation for the people of Italy and Kazakhstan," Saudabayev told AKI.
He said Berlusconi and Nazarbayev were expected to endorse a strategic accord during the state visit.
"The documents that will be signed during this visit underscore the relationship between the two countries. I would say that our relations will move to a higher and more significant level."
Bilateral trade between the two countries totals around 13 billion dollars a year.
"Our collaboration with the 130 Italian businesses that operate in Kazakhstan is excellent."
Saudabayev said that Finmeccanica had signed an accord with Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund, Samruk-Kazyna, set up by the government to attract investment and development.
He said Finmeccanica, the Italian defence and transport company which has annual revenues of 22 million dollars, had also signed a deal with the Kazakh railways.
The minister said ENI, the oil and gas giant, had also signed an accord with Kazmunaigas, Kazakhstan's second largest oil producer which is developing 41 fields in the west of the country.
At the end of 2008, Kazmunaigas estimated its oil reserves to be 241 million tonnes (1,775 million barrels), with an estimated reserves life of 25 years at 2008 production levels.
ENI is one of seven major international oil companies, including ExxonMobile, Total, Shell and ConocoPhillips, that are currently developing the vast Kashagan oil field in the northern part of the Caspian Sea.
The Kashagan oil field is a complex industrial project - the largest oil discovery since Prudhoe Bay in Alaska 40 years ago.
The project includes the construction of "islands" in the Caspian Sea to enhance drilling and production.
With almost 35 billion barrels of oil in place, it is expected to reach a production plateau of 1.5 million barrels per day.
When completed Kashagan is expected to provide 10 percent of Europe's daily energy demand.
Kazakhstan has more than 16 million people and is the world's largest landlocked country with a total area of 2.7 million square kilometres - equal to the size of Western Europe.
President Nazarbayev previously met Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on a state visit to Italy in 1994.
Kazakstan will assume the presidency of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010.
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