ROME (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The visit of President Sergio Mattarella to Kazakhstan on September 29–30, 2025, “has a symbolic significance.” This was stated by Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Italy, Yerbolat Sembayev, in an interview with the Italpress agency.
“This is the first visit of an Italian Head of State in the past 28 years: the last one was in 1997, when our country was visited by President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro. This fact highlights the high level of trust between our countries and the desire to deepen the partnership,” he noted.
According to Sembayev, President Mattarella’s official visit is the natural continuation of active political contacts at the highest levels. “In September 2023, Kazakhstan hosted the visit of Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani. It was the first visit of an Italian Foreign Minister to Kazakhstan in 25 years, important from the perspective of strengthening our strategic partnership,” the Ambassador said.
He also recalled that on May 30 of this year, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid an official visit to Kazakhstan. “The visit marked an important stage in the development of relations between Kazakhstan and Italy and was characterized by a series of key events. In particular, there were high-level bilateral talks, participation in the first Central Asia + Italy summit, and the Italian Prime Minister’s speech at the plenary session of the Astana International Forum,” observed the head of the diplomatic mission in Italy.
“The official visit of President Sergio Mattarella to Kazakhstan takes place in the context of the European Union’s active engagement with Central Asia, where Kazakhstan plays a key role as a stable, reliable, and responsible partner. We are confident that this summit will give new momentum to political dialogue, deepen mutual understanding, and open up new opportunities in a wide range of fields, from energy and logistics to education, science, and culture,” he added.
Kazakhstan and Italy, Sembayev emphasized, “share common principles: respect for international law, sustainable development, economic openness, and dialogue.” In this context, he noted, “President Mattarella’s visit confirms the high level of relations between Kazakhstan and Italy and the will to further develop them in a spirit of friendship and mutual benefit.”
Speaking of bilateral relations, Sembayev stressed that they are characterized by stability, depth, and sustainable development. “Italy is rightly one of our main trade and economic partners within the European Union. In 2024 alone, the volume of mutual trade reached a record 20 billion dollars, clearly reflecting the scope and potential of our economic cooperation. Over the past 20 years, gross foreign investment from Italy to Kazakhstan have reached 7.7 billion dollars, mainly in the oil and gas sector, energy, and industrial equipment,” he added.
The ambassador recalled that Italy is the leading importer of Kazakh oil and an investor in key sectors of the economy. “At the same time, cooperation goes beyond the energy sector: projects are intensifying in the agro-industrial field, mechanical engineering, infrastructure, and sustainable development,” he noted. “More than 265 Italian companies operate actively in Kazakhstan, present in sectors such as energy, mechanical engineering, processing, construction, and agriculture. Our cooperation also extends to the humanitarian and academic spheres: university exchanges, cultural initiatives, projects in green technologies and sustainable development are expanding,” he said.
“Political dialogue is maintained at a high level, which creates favourable conditions for a further strengthening of ties,” Sembayev declared. “Cultural cooperation between Kazakhstan and Italy is also gaining ground. The opening in November 2023 of the Italian Cultural Institute in the city of Almaty, the only one in Central Asia, marked a new stage of collaboration in this field, representing another step forward toward bringing our peoples closer,” he added.
The ambassador said the peak of bilateral cultural cooperation was reached in April 2024 with the opening of Kazakhstan’s pavilion at the 60th International Contemporary Art Biennale in Venice. Thousands of visitors from Italy and around the world had the opportunity to admire works by famous Kazakh artists. He recalled that “regular tours by Kazakh artistic groups are organized in Italy.”
“For example, in March 2023 a major tour was held by the Orchestra of the National University of Arts of Kazakhstan, conducted by Professor A. Musakhajayeva, in Milan, Genoa, Sanremo, and Rome. The concerts of the Kazakh National Academic Orchestra of Folk Instruments Kurmangazy, held in June 2023 in Rome and Naples, were also very successful,” he added.
One of the main goals, according to Sembayev, is to promote Kazakhstan’s historical and cultural heritage in Italy. “For example, in May 2023 we organized in Rome a presentation by Kazakh designers and jewelers on the theme ‘Traditions and Contemporary Kazakhstan: A Link Through the Centuries,’ attended by representatives of Italy’s creative industry, including designers, art historians, and artists. The presentation aimed to introduce the Italian public to Kazakhstan’s national style through trends in decorative and applied arts.”
The exhibition of artifacts from the collections of Almaty’s Association of Museums, inaugurated in Naples in autumn 2023, also aroused great interest and surprise among the Italian public. “The exhibition ‘Nomads of Kazakhstan: Past and Present,’ held in the historic centre of Castel Nuovo, offered local residents and thousands of tourists visiting this Italian metropolis from around the world the opportunity to discover Kazakhstan’s cultural and historical heritage,” the diplomat emphasised.
“In October of this year, we plan to inaugurate in Rome a bust of the great Kazakh poet and thinker Abai Kunanbaiuly. In addition, during President Sergio Mattarella’s visit to Kazakhstan, a street will be inaugurated in the Kazakh capital Astana named after the great Italian traveller Marco Polo. These projects will represent another step forward in the cultural rapprochement of our countries. We highly value the level of mutual understanding reached between our countries and are confident that this dialogue will only continue to expand,” Sembayev concluded.
– Photo: Embassy of Kazakhstan in Italy –
(ITALPRESS).
