The meeting was chaired by CGEM President Mehdi Tazi and attended by Alibek Kuantyrov, Kazakhstan’s vice minister of foreign affairs, alongside a high-level delegation of business leaders and institutional representatives from both countries.
Opening the session, Tazi described the council as more than a new cooperation mechanism, calling it a permanent forum for dialogue between the Moroccan and Kazakh business communities.
He noted that bilateral trade has increased by 68% since 2021 to more than $460 million, while emphasizing that economic ties remain well below their potential.
Tazi highlighted opportunities for deeper cooperation in fertilizers and agriculture, logistics, infrastructure, energy, digital technologies and artificial intelligence. He also underscored Morocco’s position as a gateway to African and European markets and Kazakhstan’s role as an entry point to Central Asia, calling for the development of an economic corridor linking the two regions.
For his part, Kuantyrov reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s commitment to expanding economic relations with Morocco, describing the new Business Council as a practical tool to encourage investment, industrial partnerships and greater commercial exchanges.
The session also featured presentations by Driss Benomar, the Moroccan co-chair of the Morocco-Kazakhstan Business Council, and Murat Karimssakov, the Kazakh co-chair and president of the International Chamber of Commerce of Kazakhstan, who outlined the council’s priorities.
Representatives from Moroccan and Kazakh companies and institutions later presented business opportunities in information technology, finance, agribusiness, port infrastructure, telecommunications and investment before holding business-to-business meetings to identify concrete areas for cooperation.
Through the launch of the Business Council, the CGEM said it aims to deepen economic partnerships with Central Asian markets while creating new trade and investment opportunities for Moroccan companies.
