Kazakhstan is the Atocha station of the world, and the trains won't stop leaving

It is clear to me that when I tell you that I am from Kazakhstan, many of you will have to think twice or thrice about whether you know where my country is. Don't worry; it happens pretty often. The answer is easy: it is in the center of the world, and now I will explain why.

First, I want to give you a fact that will make you look at us immediately. Last year, 85% of the goods transported from China to Europe passed through Kazakhstan. I am writing to you from Almaty, but with a fair amount of certainty, the phone or computer with which you are reading this article has probably passed this way.

Some say that Kazakhstan is the next Dubai. It is the next Atocha Station in the world.

Look at a map. What I was telling you before. Kazakhstan is at the center of everything. With Russia to the North, China to the East, India to the South, and Europe to the West, where continents meet where civilizations meet, Kazakhstan is right in the middle, five and a half times bigger than Spain, with only 19 million inhabitants.

Trains always continue passing through here.

Trains are made by Talgo, the Spanish company, which has been present here since 2000 and which connects our capital, Astana, with the largest city and business center of the country, Almaty. Porcelanosa, Zara Mango, or Técnicas Reunidas are also located here. At Almaty airport, you can find Azkoyen machines, and in the streets of my city, you can find Roca advertising.

Last year, 85% of the goods transported from China to Europe passed through Kazakhstan.

While it is true that there are more Kazakhs in the Valencian Community and Catalonia than Spaniards in Kazakhstan, my country is an ideal partner for investors from Spain who want to invest outside Europe and who are interested in a specific segment of the economy: natural resources. 

Almost 100 of the 118 chemical elements of the periodic table are present in the infinite soils of the country's steppe (I tell you, we have much more territory than Germany, France, or even Mexico).

And in our raw materials lies a good part of the prosperity we have enjoyed since our independence. We have large deposits of gas and zinc, the world's seventh largest producer of gold and one of the leading producers of nickel and cobalt, in case you imagine a future world of electric cars. Or even more, we have oil, chrome, gold, silver, manganese, iron, and coal or uranium, of which we are the world's leading producer, with 30% of the world's reserves, in case you prefer to visualize a future of nuclear energy.

However, as the Kazakh explorer Shokan Shyngysuly Valikhanov, one of our founding figures - and to whom my wife Aselle and I have dedicated a school in Almaty - said in the mid-19th century, "the true wealth of a nation lies in its culture and its people."

According to various sources, Kazakhstan will grow by 2024 around 4.8% to 5.3% percent. We are considered the most peaceful and stable country in the region; we have extraordinary business and trade relations with all our neighbors and with Europe - which last year announced an investment of billions in green hydrogen projects near the Caspian - or the United States.

Nearly 100 of the 118 chemical elements of the periodic table are present in the infinite soils of the country's steppe.

If our nation has withstood geopolitical turbulence and we are more solid than many, it has to do in part with our way of reaching out to other peoples, travelers, investors, and friends. We are the fruits of generations and generations of nomads, which has made us strong.

And we care about our friends. Europe's energy security depends on closer ties between the EU states and us. Considering that we have more natural resources than anyone else, we want to convince Spanish investors to bet on us to develop new and bigger projects. We want to co-invest with you. We want to continue progressing with you.

And what can I tell you? We Kazakhs love Spain.