At a ceremony on 16 September, the Deutsche Bundesbank and the National Bank of Kazakhstan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The signatories were Burkhard Balz, member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, and Timur Suleimenov, Governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan.

The signing of the MoU provides a formal basis for the collaboration between the two central banks, which has lasted for many years. This agreement seeks to further intensify their cooperation, in particular within the framework of the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Mongolia Regional Capacity Development Center (CCAMTAC), a collaborative venture between the IMF, nine member countries and other development partners. CCAMTAC, the Swiss National Bank and the Bundesbank had already jointly hosted a high-level workshop on “Monetary Policy – Transparency, Transmission and Communication” in Almaty, Kazakhstan at the end of September.

The MoU was signed as part of a visit by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Kazakhstan, with the aim of deepening bilateral cooperation. In addition to the MoU between the central banks, other agreements between the Federal Government and the government of Kazakhstan were signed at the office of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Astana.

This agreement gives Kazakhstan a prominent role in the Bundesbank’s international central bank dialogue with the monetary authorities of the Central Asian countries. The Bundesbank looks forward to future collaboration and the joint projects that will result from this partnership.