On 10 April 2023, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev had summit talks in Astana.
The sides thoroughly discussed key issues of the Kazakh-Azerbaijani strategic partnership and alliance, paying special attention to strengthening political, trade and economic, transport and transit, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, Akorda reports.
The presidents exchanged views on all aspects of cooperation, checked positions on regional and international issues, and also discussed prospects and directions for further deepening cooperation between the two countries.
Following the talks, Presidents Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Ilham Aliyev signed a Protocol on the establishment of the Supreme Interstate Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Azerbaijan and issued a Joint statement.
The creation of the Council became another step towards the practical implementation of the Declaration on Strengthening Strategic Relations and Deepening Allied Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, signed in August last year.
Addressing at a joint press conference after the talks, the heads of state stated that by the end of last year, the trade turnover between the countries approached the half-billion mark. At the same time, the potential of trade and economic partnership is far from being exhausted. The parties agreed to further expand the range of export-import goods in order to bring the turnover to US $ 1 billion.
“In this context, full unlocking the potential of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (Middle Corridor) is of great importance. We are talking about the improvement of logistics services, the creation of unified transport operators, the modernization of technical and tariff conditions, the elimination of administrative barriers and the formation of a closed logistics cycle. The effective implementation of the Roadmap for the Development of the Middle Corridor for 2022-2027 is also of great importance. We agreed that it is important to take full advantage of the increased interest in this route and involve third countries in its infrastructure development. All these measures, as well as close cooperation with our international partners, will ensure the stability and efficiency of cargo delivery in the East –West direction,” the President of Kazakhstan said.
Special attention was paid to increasing cooperation in the field of energy. The priority task is to further diversify the supply of energy resources to world markets.
“Thanks to our agreements, the first shipment of Kazakh oil was sent through Azerbaijan this year. The next step is to increase the supplies and give them a long–term, stable character,” the leader of Kazakhstan stressed.
The strengthening of cooperation in the field of information technology has been identified as one of the promising areas of cooperation. The parties aim to launch as soon as possible a fiber-optic communication line along the bottom of the Caspian Sea, the construction of which is currently underway. At the same time, Kazakhstan invites Azerbaijani companies to implement joint projects in the field of digitalization of public services, as well as to use Kazakhstani IT start-up platforms.
The following documents were signed during the official visit of the President of Azerbaijan to Astana:
- Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation between the Ministry of Information and Public Development of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan;
- MoU between the Non-profit Joint Stock Company “Otandastar Foundation” (Kazakhstan) and the State Committee of Azerbaijan for Work with the Diaspora;
- MoU on scientific cooperation between the National Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan and the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan;
- MoU between “TV and Radio Complex of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan” and the Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC);
- MoU between the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan LLP and the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Businesses of Azerbaijan;
- Memorandum on Scientific and Cultural cooperation between the Institute of Applied Ethnopolitical Studies and the Baku International Center for Multiculturalism.
The leaders of the two countries led the opening ceremony of Heydar Aliyev Street in the center of Astana. ///nCa, 11 April 2023 [photo credit – Akorda]