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Kazakhstan and Russia in the context of Energy 4.0
Mikhail Smirnov, Doctor of Political Sciences, Chairman of the Russian-Kazakh Business Council (on the part of the Russian Federation), President of the EnergoInnovatsia Association of Innovative Enterprises in the Energy Sector, answers the questions of Petroleum
– Mr Smirnov, in short, what does the Russian-Kazakh Business Council do?
– The Business Council was created on the initiative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation. As stated in the regulation on the Council, its main objectives are
- the expansion and development of business contacts and mutually beneficial cooperation between Russian and Kazakh entrepreneurs;
- promotion of Russian business to the markets of Kazakhstan and the involvement of Kazakhstani investments in Russia;
- increasing the role of the stakeholders of the business community of Russia in the formation and implementation of state policy in the field of bilateral economic relations;
- to bring together and arrange a constructive dialogue of business circles of Russia and Kazakhstan, who are interested in advancing and improving the efficiency of the bilateral business cooperation;
- protection of rights and legitimate interests of Russian entrepreneurs in their relations with the Russian and Kazakhstani official and commercial structures.
In short, within the framework of the Russian-Kazakh Business Council, we are working to find common interests, projects and topics for interaction between enterprises and companies of our countries. On the part of Kazakhstan, the Council is co-chaired by the Chairman of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan, Ayan Yerenov. I took the post of co-chair from the Russian side relatively recently, half a year ago. Therefore, we try to use the experience of colleagues who worked before us and add our initiatives to it. We have a profound foundation for developing trade and economic relations, the joint development of technologies and the implementation of major investment projects.
– How do you assess the Russian-Kazakh business cooperation in the current challenging conditions of the pandemic and quarantine restrictions that have been in effect for more than a year?
– Russia and Kazakhstan are long-term key partners for each other, so it is crucial in this challenging economic period to preserve the trade and investment ties that have been created for decades, to prevent a sharp decline in trade turnover, thereby preserving the foundation for further development of mutually beneficial cooperation. The Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan are emerging from the coronavirus crisis with relatively small losses in economic growth compared to other countries. Thus, according to the calculations of the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan, the country's GDP fell by 2.6% in 2020, which is lower than the global average.
Cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan in the economic sphere is strategic, and our countries have the closest and inseparable ties due to both a shared history and modern geopolitical realities. The most important example of such a historically developed integration of the economies of our countries is trade and the fuel and energy complex. The energy and oil, and gas infrastructure were built in both countries during the Soviet era. This gives us new opportunities and advantages of integration and cooperation in working on global markets. This is reflected in the trade balance. For example, about three-quarters of the oil produced in Kazakhstan is exported in transit through Russia. And through Kazakhstan, there is a transit of Russian oil to China. In the border areas, strategic cooperation in energy systems plays a unique role in trade balances, and there is significant traffic of electric energy across the border. All these developments should be used in the interests of the two countries and effectively developed.