No results found.
German delegation in Central Asia to promote cooperation. Joachim Goldbeck was also present
A wind farm the size of Brandenburg in the steppes of Kazakhstan – that was one reason for the German delegation led by Annalena Baerbock, Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, to visit Central Asia. Joachim Goldbeck, CEO of GOLDBECK SOLAR GmbH, was also there.
There was something new this time during her visit to Central Asia. For the first time, Annalena Baerbock was accompanied by a delegation from the business community. In doing so, the German Foreign Minister underlined her ambition to work more closely with Kazakhstan on energy policy – on an equal footing. Together with the EU, Germany wants to invest in projects to improve infrastructure in various countries as part of the EU’s Global Gateway initiative. As the most important economic partner in Central Asia, Kazakhstan is a central building block for the initiative. More than 200 German companies are active there. At the same time, the country has large reserves of raw materials.
During her visit, the focus was particularly on a hydrogen project in the Caspian Sea region. “For a common and sustainable future,” emphasized the Foreign Minister at the meeting with Kazakh Foreign Minister Muchtar Tleuberdi. The plan is to produce up to three million tons of green hydrogen from 2030 using wind energy and electrolysis with water, which will also be supplied to Germany and the EU. The wind farm required for this in the Kazakh steppe is to be built by a German company. Joachim Goldbeck, who was part of the delegation in Kazakhstan, explains: “There is a lot of space in Kazakhstan. These are good conditions for a wind farm.” Joachim Goldbeck knows what he is talking about. With his company GOLDBECK SOLAR, he has been operating solar plants in Kazakhstan for four years. “These also require a lot of space. And Kazakhstan has plenty of it.”
The only area where Joachim Goldbeck also sees room for improvement is emissions trading. Fortunately, efforts are already underway to link Kazakhstan’s emissions trading with the European system. “That would be excellent for us. Investments in Central Asia always pose a certain risk. However, the situation is currently stable. So everyone could benefit from closer cooperation between Germany or the EU and Kazakhstan in the field of renewable energies,” summarizes Joachim Goldbeck.
