At the end of March, DFG Secretary General Dr. Heide Ahrens welcomed the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Dr. Nurlan Onzhanov, to the DFG Berlin Office. He was accompanied by Leila Ashimzhanova, Counsellor and Head of the Embassy’s Education and Culture Section.

Having been in regular contact for many years, the DFG and the Kazakh Embassy made the most of this in-person meeting at the WissenschaftsForum in Berlin to further deepen their dialogue on forms of German–Kazakh cooperation in the field of research. Ambassador Dr. Nurlan Onzhanov emphasised the DFG’s strategic importance as a partner in initiating and implementing joint research projects and praised its efforts to strengthen academic ties between the two countries. Thanking the Embassy for its longstanding support, DFG Secretary General Dr. Heide Ahrens noted the growing interest within the German research community in collaborating with Kazakhstan – especially given the fact that the countries of Central Asia are becoming increasingly important partners in addressing global challenges. Dr. Ahrens confirmed that the DFG plans to expand its activities with Kazakhstan in the long term and will continue to count on the involvement of the Kazakh Embassy in Berlin.

This active engagement is particularly valuable in connection with the DFG’s current initiative “Networking for Research with Central Asia”: focusing on Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, this aims to promote links between German universities of applied sciences and researchers in Central Asia across three areas of research in the natural sciences and engineering sciences. In connection with this initiative, the DFG is engaging with a wide range of institutions, creating opportunities for researchers to connect in person or virtually, and offering information sessions on funding opportunities for joint research projects.

The Kazakh Embassy also welcomed the DFG’s deepening ties with the German–Kazakh University (DKU), which is considered a flagship of bilateral academic cooperation. Ambassador Onzhanov described the planned involvement of the DFG in future activities of the newly established Kazakhstan-German Center for Research Cooperation – run jointly by DKU and the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan – as a key instrument for building research networks. Dr. Ahrens further shared that the DFG is looking to strengthen its engagement in Central Asia through closer cooperation with the Central Asia Sustainability Information Bureau (CASIB) in Almaty.

The DFG has long supported bilateral research projects with Kazakhstan and remains in close exchange with leading universities in the country, the National Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and the national funding agency Science Fund – not least through delegation visits and online events. In Germany, the DFG cooperates with the BMBF, the Federal Foreign Office and other German institutions involved in research, funding and knowledge transfer with the aim of developing new approaches to fostering research cooperation in the region.