The 7th plenary meeting of the Kazakhstan–Canada Business Council was held in Astana on the occasion of the 16th international Astana Mining & Metallurgy congress.
Meirzhan Yussupov, Chief Executive Officer of NAC Kazatomprom JSC, and Tim Gitzel, Chief Executive Officer of Cameco Corporation co-chaired the meeting.
The event gathered more than 120 representatives of government agencies, business circles, and the expert community from Kazakhstan and Canada.
The central topic of discussion was artificial intelligence as one of Kazakhstan’s priority areas of development.
The relevance of this topic is underscored by the fact that 2026 has been declared the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in the country. Participants explored prospects for applying AI across various sectors of the economy, as well as issues related to trade, investment, and the development of business ties between companies of the two countries.
Addresses were delivered by Alibek Kuantyrov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Dauletbek Kussainov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Canada; Christopher Duggan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Ernar Zharkeshov, Deputy Akim of the Akmola Region;.
“Uranium mining is an important, but by no means the only area of mutually beneficial cooperation between Kazakhstan and Canada. Today, partnership ties are actively developing in the mining and metallurgical industry, the oil and gas sector, and agriculture. I am confident that the Kazakhstan–Canada Business Council will continue to promote the expansion of partnership and provide additional impetus to the development of our countries’ economies,” noted Meirzhan Yussupov, Chief Executive Officer of NAC Kazatomprom JSC.
“Annual bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and Canada consistently stands at approximately 500 million US dollars. Today, more than 160 enterprises with Canadian participation are successfully operating in our country. We are committed to further developing cooperation in industrial and technological sectors, creating conditions for the implementation of new joint projects,” said Alibek Kuantyrov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
A separate session was devoted to trade and investment issues. During the discussion, Kanat Sharlapayev, Chair of the Presidium of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Atameken”, noted that Kazakhstan and Canada have significant potential to expand trade, economic, and investment cooperation, particularly in subsoil use, critical minerals, the agro-industrial complex, energy, digitalization, and innovation. According to him, key priorities include creating a favourable business environment, developing direct contacts between companies, and launching joint high value-added projects.
Over the years, the Kazakhstan–Canada Business Council has established itself as an effective platform for strengthening partnership between the two countries. The outcomes of the current meeting confirmed the mutual interest of the parties to further expand cooperation, introduce advanced technologies, and implement joint initiatives aligned with the long-term economic interests of Kazakhstan and Canada.
For more information, please contact:
Public Relations and Media Inquiries
Daniyar Oralov, Director of Public Relations
Tel: +7 7172 45 80 63
Email: pr@kazatomprom.kz
Investor Relations Inquiries
Botagoz Muldagaliyeva, Director of Investor Relations
Tel.: +7 7172 45 81 80/69
Email: ir@kazatomprom.kz
About Kazatomprom
Kazatomprom is the world's largest producer of uranium with the Company’s attributable production representing approximately 20% of global primary uranium production in 2025. The Group benefits from the largest reserve base in the industry and operates, through its subsidiaries, JVs and Associates, 27 deposits grouped into 14 mining assets. All of the Company’s mining operations are located in Kazakhstan and extract uranium using ISR technology with a focus on maintaining industry-leading health, safety and environment standards.
Kazatomprom securities are listed on the London Stock Exchange and Astana International Exchange. Kazatomprom is the national atomic company in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Group's primary customers are operators of nuclear power plants, and the principal export markets for the Group's products are countries in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The Group sells uranium and uranium products under long-term contracts, short-term contracts as well as in the spot market, directly from its headquarters in Astana, Kazakhstan, and through its Switzerland-based trading subsidiary, TH Kazakatom AG (THK). For more information, please see the Company website at www.kazatomprom.kz.
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