Documents signed by Kazakhstan and Israel in January 2026

On 27 January 2026, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar arrived in Astana on an official visit. According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the visit included ministerial talks, the twelfth round of political consultations, the signing of documents and a Kazakhstan–Israel business forum. 1

Documents signed at the forum concerned water and municipal infrastructure, construction of a bitumen plant and renewable energy. The forum’s areas of focus do not, by themselves, establish whether these projects were implemented.

What took place in Astana

According to Kazakhstan’s official statement, the ministers discussed political dialogue, trade, economic and investment ties, tourism, science, education and healthcare. The twelfth round of political consultations between the foreign ministries followed. Astana also hosted a business forum attended by government bodies and business representatives from both countries. 1

The areas discussed included high-tech agriculture, water resource management and digitalisation. 1

Three documents with different implications

Two memorandums of cooperation were signed that day. One concerned cooperation between diplomatic academies; the other covered public diplomacy. Separately, the sides signed a memorandum of intent to conclude an agreement on mutual exemption from visa requirements for holders of national passports. 1

The memorandum expressed an intention to conclude an agreement and did not itself introduce visa-free travel. 1

The Kazakhstan–Israel business forum in 2025

Several months before the visit, in 2025, a Kazakhstan–Israel business forum took place in Astana. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports reports that the forum was held with support from Israel’s Ministry of Regional Cooperation. Its announced topics included trade and investment, education, healthcare, youth policy, sport, water resources, science and digital government. 2

The publication about the forum identifies the 1995 agreement on culture, science and sport as the legal basis for sporting ties. 2