EU and Kazakhstan announce energy partnership

Kazakhstan and the EU have agreed to cooperate more closely in the field of energy and raw materials, the European Commission announced on Monday.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov signed the agreement on the sidelines of the COP27 world climate conference happening in Egypt this week.
The treaty aims to guarantee the supply of certain raw materials and to develop value chains for sustainably produced hydrogen and batteries.
The European Union is trying to find new economic partners. Recent global crises made it clear how dependent EU states are on certain countries' supply chains.
The pandemic showed that the EU depends heavily on China, while Russia's invasion of Ukraine demonstrated its reliance on Russia in the field of energy.
Over the next six months, the EU will launch joint projects with Kazakhstan, for example in the area of sustainable mining and refinery processes.
"I will conclude three agreements here at this COP27 for green hydrogen, for example with Namibia and with Egypt," von der Leyen said in an interview with the German TV station RTL/ntv.
Hydrogen is considered climate-friendly if it is produced using renewable electricity.
At the end of last week, the EU Commission also said that partnerships with countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Senegal and India were in the pipeline.