Kazakhstan and Denmark have agreed to strengthen trade, investment and transport cooperation as the two countries seek to expand their growing economic ties.

Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi held talks with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who arrived in Kazakhstan on an official visit. The ministers discussed bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues, Qazinform News Agency reports.

Particular attention was given to expanding trade and economic cooperation. Bilateral trade reached $163 million in 2025, while cumulative Danish direct investment in Kazakhstan since 2005 exceeded $394 million.

A major focus was the investment project by Carlsberg Group, which has built a PepsiCo soft drinks production plant in the Ili district of Kazakhstan’s Almaty region. Rasmussen attended the facility’s opening ceremony on October 1.

The $344 million plant is expected to become one of Carlsberg’s largest production sites worldwide. It will have an annual production capacity of up to 1 billion liters and create around 230 jobs.

The two sides also discussed the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, known as the Middle Corridor, which connects Europe and Asia. They explored potential cooperation with Danish shipping giant Maersk to increase cargo flows along the route.

“Denmark is an important partner for us in Northern Europe. We attach great importance to the development of our bilateral relations and seek to give greater substance to our trade and economic cooperation through concrete and significant projects,” Tileuberdi said.

Rasmussen reaffirmed Denmark’s interest in expanding cooperation with Kazakhstan, pointing to the growing strategic importance of Central Asia in Denmark’s foreign policy and economic agenda.

The ministers also discussed regional and international developments, cooperation within the United Nations and other multilateral organizations, and prospects for strengthening ties between Central Asia and Northern Europe.

Rasmussen led a high-level Danish business delegation at the Kazakh-Danish Business Forum in Konaev, where companies from the two countries explored investment opportunities and joint projects in key sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy.

The talks concluded with the signing of several memorandums of understanding. Among them was an agreement to establish a bilateral commission on trade, economic and investment cooperation between the foreign ministries of Kazakhstan and Denmark.