Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev is beginning a two-day official visit to Germany, where Kazakhstan is expected to agree to trade and economic cooperation deals worth over $2 billion.
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry said agreements on raw materials, industry, and technology would be among the deals signed in Berlin.
The trip is Nazarbaev's first visit to a Western country since clashes between security forces and oil workers in the western Kazakh town of Zhanaozen left at least 16 people dead in December.
Nazarbaev's government has come under criticism for the arrests of opposition activists in connection with the violence.
Some Kazakh activists have called for protests in Berlin to demand that the president stop what they describe as a "new wave of politically motivated arrests."
With agency reports
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry said agreements on raw materials, industry, and technology would be among the deals signed in Berlin.
The trip is Nazarbaev's first visit to a Western country since clashes between security forces and oil workers in the western Kazakh town of Zhanaozen left at least 16 people dead in December.
Nazarbaev's government has come under criticism for the arrests of opposition activists in connection with the violence.
Some Kazakh activists have called for protests in Berlin to demand that the president stop what they describe as a "new wave of politically motivated arrests."
With agency reports
