Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has arrived in Kazakhstan as part of a tour of countries outside Europe, indicating that Prague is stepping up its search for new economic partners beyond the EU.
The Czech Prime Minister’s visit to Astana, accompanied by a delegation of representatives from around 50 major companies, is taking relations between Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic into a more practical phase. The focus is on energy, industrial cooperation, transport and new investments. In essence, this concerns not only the bilateral agenda, but also the Czech Republic’s broader strategy to diversify its supply of raw materials and expand its presence in Central Asia.
The economic foundation for this has already been laid. According to Kazakh estimates, total trade between the countries exceeded US$1.5 billion, including the oil component. Excluding oil, bilateral trade grew by 13% to reach around US$700 million. By way of comparison, the Czech Republic’s imports from Kazakhstan in 2025 were estimated at approximately US$1.02 billion, whilst its exports stood at US$855 million. These figures demonstrate steady growth and a gradual expansion of the range of traded goods.
Energy remains the key driver. Kazakhstan is one of the largest suppliers of oil to the Czech Republic, providing over 1 million tonnes of supplies per year via the Trieste–TAL route. A separate area is uranium and the cooperation between Kazatomprom and ČEZ, which is viewed as part of a broader agenda for Europe’s energy security.
