Photo: akorda.kz
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan will double their bilateral trade in the near future, bringing it to $1 billion. The agreement was reached during Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s state visit to Kazakhstan, according to the Akorda press service.
Commenting on the outcome of the talks, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said he attached “special importance” to Aliyev’s visit. “Our countries share common roots and a common history. Azerbaijan is an important and reliable strategic partner of Kazakhstan. Today, our relations are developing steadily. We pay special attention to expanding our cooperation. The main goal is to strengthen our friendship and give new momentum to collaboration in various areas. This serves the interests of both nations,” Tokayev emphasized.
“Our peoples are united by centuries-old friendship and brotherhood based on spiritual and cultural affinity,” Aliyev added. “This is a solid foundation on which we are building our interstate relations. If we trace the dynamics of mutual visits—there have been more than ten over the past three years—we can clearly see the intensity of our relationship. Every meeting, every discussion is aimed at tangible results.”
During the meeting, the presidents discussed expanding trade and economic cooperation. In addition to agreeing to double trade turnover, Tokayev noted that both sides were interested in establishing joint ventures.
“In this regard, we have made significant progress. For example, we plan to launch joint production of transformers, ongoing construction of residential and infrastructure facilities, and joint projects in shipbuilding. The governments have been instructed to monitor these areas closely and to draft, in the shortest possible time, a plan—or, as it is now commonly called, a road map—for developing cooperation in the industrial sector,” the Kazakh leader said.
Another topic of discussion was the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which runs from the China–Kazakhstan border through Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, and on to Europe. The route involves both rail and sea transport across the Caspian Sea. Last year, cargo traffic along this corridor increased by 62 percent, reaching 4.5 million tons.
Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. Photo: t.me/aqorda_resmi
“With our foreign partners, we are working to eliminate so-called ‘bottlenecks’ in a synchronized manner and to establish a unified long-term tariff along the corridor. This will undoubtedly improve efficiency, ensure uninterrupted delivery across the route, and, as we expect, increase cargo volumes to 10 million tons,” Tokayev noted. He added that the two sides also discussed the possibility of creating a new Trans-Caspian ferry system for cargo exports.
Speaking about energy cooperation, Tokayev expressed “satisfaction” with the joint work on transporting Kazakh oil via the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan route, according to Akorda. Last year, transit of Kazakh crude through Azerbaijan amounted to nearly 1.5 million tons. Plans are now in place to significantly increase this volume, the president said.
At a joint press conference with Tokayev, Aliyev mentioned that Azerbaijan had lifted all restrictions on cargo transit to Armenia, with the first such transit shipment consisting of Kazakh grain. The first batch is expected to arrive in Armenia soon via the Aktau–Baku railway and then through the Azerbaijan–Georgia rail line.
