Germany and Kazakhstan have maintained bilateral relations since 1992. Germany has an embassy in Astana and a consulate general in Almaty. There are regular consultations that focus on political, economic and cultural cooperation. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz travelled to Kazakhstan in September 2024. There, he met among others with President Tokajev for bilateral talks and participated in a meeting with the five Central Asian heads of state (at the C5+1 summit).

Kazakhstan is Germany’s most important trading partner in Central Asia. Trade between the two countries reached 8.75 billion euro in 2023 (imports to Germany: 5.52 billion euro; exports to Kazakhstan: 3.23 billion euro). Some 400 German companies have a presence in Kazakhstan. Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI) and the German Chamber of Commerce Abroad (AHK), which oversee business activities of German companies in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, have offices in Almaty.

Actors of Germany’s cultural relations and education in Kazakhstan are the Goethe-Institut (GI) and the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA) (five seconded teachers). 15 Kazakh schools are part of Germany’s Schools: Partners for the Future global network (PASCH). Every year, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) finances stays in Germany for some 90 Kazakh students. A flagship project in terms of bilateral cooperation in higher education is the Kazakh-German University (DKU) in Almaty. The Kazakh-German Institute of Science and Technology at the East Kazakhstan Technical University (EKTU) was opened on 26 June 2024. Moreover, during the visit of Federal Chancellor Scholz in September 2024, Germany and Kazakhstan signed a joint declaration of intent with the aim of opening a Kazakh-German school in Astana. The some 800,000 ethnic Germans who have immigrated to Germany from Kazakhstan and the some 226,000 members of the German minority (2021 census) still living in Kazakhstan form a special bridge between the two countries.

Kazakhstan participates in a wide range of regional German development cooperation projects in Central Asia. These programmes focus on promoting the expansion of vocational training, good governance, sustainable economic development, environmental protection and energy efficiency as well as disaster prevention. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has offices in Astana and Almaty.

The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung all have offices in Kazakhstan.