The UK Trade and Investment team in Kazakhstan is based both in the British Embassy in Astana and our trade office in Atyrau in West Kazakhstan. The team is the overseas arm of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), which is the UK Government organisation that helps British companies succeed in international markets and supports the inward and outward investment efforts of companies in both countries.

The main purpose of the Embassy team is to support eligible UK companies develop their business interests in Kazakhstan by offering a full range of UKTI services, which are described on the organisation’s web site www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk. Principal among these is the Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS), which is geared to individual company requirements for market information and guidance and support in Kazakhstan. The service is offered at various levels depending on the depth of investigation requested by the customer. See services for UK companies.

The team also seeks to help Kazakh companies wishing to trade with or invest in the United Kingdom, especially those seeking supply of UK goods and services or British participation in projects in Kazakhstan. We are particularly eager to disseminate business opportunities in Kazakhstan to appropriate UK companies.

The Ambassador and the Embassy Trade and Investment team strive to maintain close working co-operation with British businesses already established in Kazakhstan, Kazakh-British partnerships and those companies with strong British interests. Regular British Business Group networking meetings are held quarterly in Almaty, and an Astana group will be established before the end of the year. Additionally, the Ambassador and the Trade and Investment team take every opportunity to visit other important business centres in Kazakhstan especially, Atyrau, Aktau, Aksai and Uralsk. These visits always involve meeting representatives of locally based British businesses.

The Embassy team plan and organise business events, especially the British involvement in regularly held exhibitions and conferences such KIOGE and the Atyrau Oil and Gas show. It also supports both individual business visitors and companies visiting as a trade mission, with active in-market help, such as briefing and programme arrangement, again offered as OMIS help.

The Embassy team provides information across a range of issues relating to doing business successfully in Kazakhstan. This advice can cover both sector-specific information (and reports where these are available) as well as general aspects such as the procedures for setting up a business, the basic taxation regime and the obligations on foreign business to observe local content requirements and the process for obtaining work permits.  

Our staff 

British Embassy Astana
Bernie Wilson – Head of Trade and Investment
Zarina Bakenova – Trade and Investment Advisor
Elnura Botobekova – Trade and Investment Advisor

UKTI Trade Office in Atyrau
Goulnar Gabdoulova – Deputy Head of Trade and Investment
Anar Alzhanova – Trade and Investment Assistant