Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan deepen strategic partnership, discuss expanded cooperation
Top Azerbaijani and Kazakh officials discussed ways to develop bilateral economic cooperation and strengthen the fraternal and allied relations between the two nations during a meeting in Baku on Tuesday.
The meeting, attended by Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov and Kazakhstan’s Minister of Transport Nurlan Sauranbayev, hailed the development of the strategic partnership and the implementation of the Comprehensive Program on the Development of Cooperation between the two countries for 2022–2026, News.Az reports, citing AZERTAC.
The sides discussed ongoing and future measures to further enhance cooperation in energy, transport, and other sectors. Addressing the meeting, Shahbazov said that Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, as fraternal and allied nations, are united by common history, culture, and a shared strategic vision for the future. He emphasized that, thanks to the political will and wise leadership of Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, cooperation between the two countries has been developing dynamically and sustainably in all spheres.
He noted that in 2024, bilateral trade turnover increased by 50 percent, reaching $470 million, and in the first half of this year, the figure rose 4.2 times compared to the same period last year, amounting to $501 million.
“Since 2023, a total of 3.4 million tons of Kazakh oil have been transported to global markets via the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline. Discussions are underway to increase annual transit volumes to 7 million tons by 2027 and to further expand these volumes on the basis of mutual benefit,” Shahbazov said.
He also highlighted the strategic importance of the green energy development and transmission project involving Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, which strengthens energy partnerships and contributes to regional energy security. He stated that work on the project’s feasibility study will begin after a consulting company is selected in November.
The Azerbaijani minister further noted that Azerbaijan is ready to deepen cooperation in developing the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor and to jointly explore new opportunities, including the potential opening of the Zangezur corridor, a planned transport route linking mainland Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave through Armenia.
For his part, the Kazakh minister described the negotiations as constructive, sincere, and truly businesslike. “We demonstrated mutual interest, understanding, and trust in further strengthening the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. During the meeting, we presented a number of substantive ideas and initiatives covering various aspects of bilateral cooperation, including trade, industry, transport, energy, digitalization, and culture,” Sauranbayev said.
Last year, the total volume of transit traffic between the two countries increased by 21 percent, reaching 3.6 million tons.
The officials emphasized the role of the Joint Investment Fund in attracting investments in priority infrastructure and production projects in both Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
They also underscored the positive dynamics of cooperation in science, education, culture, youth policy, and tourism, highlighting the successful implementation of several joint initiatives.
The discussions also focused on expanding cooperation in trade, economy, energy, transport, logistics, agriculture, food security, digitalization, ICT, health, science, education, culture, and tourism.
In conclusion, the parties signed a protocol on the outcomes of the 21st meeting of the Azerbaijan–Kazakhstan Joint Intergovernmental Commission held in Baku. They agreed to hold the 22nd meeting in Kazakhstan next year.
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