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Germany's Scholz looks for Central Asian energy ties in shadow of Ukraine war

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz starts his very first visit to Central Asia on Sunday, taking a trip to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as Berlin tries to find new markets and sources of energy and minerals in the wake of the Ukraine war.

He currently has some key offers under his belt. Kazakh crude started streaming through the Druzhba pipeline in 2015, keeping Berlin's Schwedt refinery running after the European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow, and Russian supplies dropped off.

This marked a totally brand-new instructions in bilateral cooperation, as no Kazakh oil had actually previously flowed through this pipeline, a Kazakh government official said.

Scholz's visit will provide some ideas on where Germany wants to take the relationship next.

On top of the oil, Kazakhstan has more than two trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, according to Kazakh government data.

Lots of German business who shut down companies in Russia - traditionally an essential hub for Central Asia - have actually set up their own sales offices and operations across the area, Eduard Kinsbruner, Central Asia regional director at the German Eastern Organization Association, stated.

German groups have actually been negotiating agreements in chemicals, knowledgeable labour, renewable resource, logistics and education among other sectors, Kinsbruner included.

Much of those agreements are anticipated to be signed throughout Scholz's visit, he added.

HYDROGEN HOPES

Kazakhstan - 7 times the size of Germany - has great deals of space, along with sun and wind, for energy tasks.

In Kazakhstan's southwestern region of Mangystau, Germany-based SVEVIND Energy Group is establishing what it states is one of the world's largest green hydrogen jobs, with a. prepared 40 gigawatts of sustainable power capability.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited in June. last year.

Germany's brand-new push is currently showing up in the stats.

In 2023, Kazakhstan exported 8.5 million lots of oil to. Germany, representing 11.7% of Germany's total oil imports,. and up from round 6.5 million loads before the Ukraine war.

That dive made Kazakhstan Germany's third-largest supplier. after Norway and the United States, information from Germany's Federal. Statistics Office revealed.

German investments in Kazakhstan increased by 64% in 2015. compared to 2022, according to data from Kazakh Invest, a. federal government company.

Since of the programs and the political system, Central. Asia wasn't a leading priority for Germany, Stefan Meister, a. Central Asia specialist at the German Council on Foreign Relations,. stated. However the war has fundamentally altered this dynamic.

Trade between Kazakhstan and Germany nearly doubled after. Russia's February 2022 intrusion of Ukraine, with turnover increasing. by 89.5% in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to. data from the German Eastern Business Association.

' LOOK TO THE FUTURE'

When we seek to the future, we see fantastic potential, a. German federal government official stated ahead of the journey.

We will require gas for 2 more decades. The tenders for brand-new. gas power plants (in Germany), which will all be hydrogen-ready,. are presently in their final stages. This indicates they will need. to get gas from somewhere.

Behind all the new plans, there are still old historic and. geographic truths.

Kazakhstan may use an option to Russia for Germany. But it is likewise weighed down by an outdated Soviet-era grid and. complex tangle of red tape.

If it (huge renewables growth) is complicated in. Germany, it's much more complicated in a country like. Kazakhstan, stated Thomas O'Donnell, an energy professional at Berlin's. Free University.

Russia still has considerable influence in Kazakhstan, which. has actually avoided taking sides in the Ukraine war. Many tellingly of. all, that Druzhba pipeline bring Kazakh oil to Berlin,. changeovers Russian area.

So a relationship with Russia, of a sort, will continue.

On one hand, we support Ukraine, said Meister of the. German Council on Foreign Relations. On the other, our. services still need resources..

(source: Reuters)