India, Kazakhstan to firm up practical areas of economic cooperation during President Tokayev’s visit for BRICS Summit

Central Asia’s biggest state Kazakhstan is among the 10 partner countries of the BRICS Participation in the 18^th BRICS Summit in New Delhi reflects Kazakhstan’s consistent policy of strengthening multilateral cooperation within BRICS and its partnership mechanisms, while also reaffirming Kazakhstan’s interest in deepening ties with India as one of the key centers of the emerging multipolar world order.

Participation in the BRICS Summit in New Delhi will provide the Kazakh side with an opportunity to present its views on pressing issues of global development, strengthening transport connectivity, ensuring food, energy and water security, advancing artificial intelligence, and promoting Kazakhstan’s key international initiatives, sources said.

As part of the visit for the Summit, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday to discuss practical aspects of Kazakhstan–India partnership. Sunday’s meeting is viewed as an opportunity to translate the accumulated political capital into concrete agreements across priority areas of cooperation.


Both countries actively cooperate through multilateral platforms, including the United Nations and BRICS, with a view to promoting peace and security at both the regional and global levels.

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Kazakhstan and India share strategic partnership based on long-standing traditions of friendship, mutual respect, and broad convergence of approaches on key regional and international issues. Kazakhstan regards India as one of its most important partners in Asia and as one of the leading voices of the Global South, with significant economic, technological and demographic potential.

A distinctive feature of bilateral cooperation is its multifaceted nature: political dialogue is complemented by expanding trade and economic, investment, scientific and technological, cultural and humanitarian ties.

The intensification of high-level contacts, including the visit of Tokayev, is aimed at providing additional momentum to the further deepening of the strategic partnership between Astana and New Delhi.

Earlier in February 2026, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026..

Bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and India amounted to USD 924.3 million in 2025. The two sides recognize the significant untapped potential for expanding mutual trade, taking into account the size and complementarity of the two economies. The two countries are exploring new promising areas of cooperation, including critical minerals, rare earth elements, and natural uranium. This week Chennai hosted biggest India-Kazakh business meet with participation of several Kazakh industries ahead of Tokayev’s visit.

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India is a promising market for Kazakh exports from the mining and metallurgical and chemical sectors, while Kazakhstan sees India as an important source of pharmaceuticals, textiles, and Indian engineering products for the Kazakh market.

The two countries plan to discuss measures to remove logistical and tariff barriers, as well as to diversify the structure of bilateral trade.

A key area of Kazakhstan–India cooperation remains the development of transport and logistics connectivity, primarily within the framework of the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC). Particular attention is being paid to increasing containerized and multimodal transportation, as well as utilizing the potential of Kazakhstan’s dry ports and logistics hubs to increase the transit of Indian cargo to Central Asia, Russia and Europe. The development of this corridor is viewed as a strategic element in diversifying Kazakhstan’s export routes and strengthening its role as a transit bridge between Eurasia and South Asia.

The two countries are interested in increasing mutual investment, including in the pharmaceutical, space and defence industries.

During the February talks in New Delhi, the the two sides reaffirmed their interest in expanding cooperation in the fields of energy, agriculture, digitalization and artificial intelligence.

Opportunities are being explored for Kazakh companies to participate in projects in India, as well as for Indian businesses to implement investment projects in Kazakhstan.