State of the Nation Address by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev: “Kazakhstan’s Current Tasks in a New Historical Cycle”

On 28 October 2026, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivered his annual State of the Nation Address, “Kazakhstan’s Current Tasks in a New Historical Cycle”. The full official text is published in Russian and Kazakh — on the Russian and Kazakh versions of this page and on the President’s official website, akorda.kz. Below is a summary of the part most relevant to business: transport and logistics.

On October 28, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivered his annual Address to the nation, titled "Kazakhstan's Current Tasks in a New Historical Cycle," Kazakhstan Today reports. Transport was one of the central themes of the speech: the president instructed the government to turn the country into Eurasia's leading logistics hub.

According to Tokayev, around 85% of cargo shipped from China to Europe already crosses Kazakhstan's territory. But the president said the current transit status was not enough: "To be content with the current favorable situation would be to condemn ourselves to the role of a laggard," he said, instructing the government to move into the role of a full-fledged organizer of international cargo flows — developing domestic logistics operators, creating cargo consolidation and distribution centers, and building new production facilities and trading platforms around transport hubs.

The key project is further development of the Middle Corridor (the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route), which links China and Europe via Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus: Tokayev instructed the government to build the Aral–Caspian highway and fully digitalize the transport sector, including international routes. He also called for faster modernization of border crossings — for example, at the Syrym crossing in the west of the country, the number of lanes will increase from eight to fourteen to cut waiting times for carriers, broadcaster 24KZ reports.

Beyond Kazakhstan's Caspian ports of Aktau and Kuryk, the Middle Corridor runs through the South Caucasus on to Europe — including Benelux ports: the Chamber has previously reported that Kazakhstan offered the Port of Antwerp-Bruges a direct partnership with Aktau and Kuryk. The president's statement in the Address shows that developing this route remains a priority for the Kazakh government at the highest level.

Why this matters for Chamber members. Expanding the capacity of the overland corridor and digitalizing border crossings directly cut the time and cost for Benelux companies shipping goods to Kazakhstan and onward to China and back, while new cargo consolidation centers create demand for local partners in logistics, customs clearance and port infrastructure.