Envoy names Azerbaijan a key economic partner of Kazakhstan in Caucasus

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

Azerbaijan is the key political and economic partner of Kazakhstan in the Caucasus region, said Beibit Isabayev, the Kazakh Ambassador to Baku.

Isabayev, in his interview with Azertac, highlighted what can be expected from the forthcoming visit of Kazakh leader Nursultan Nazarbayev to Azerbaijan. Nazarbayev is expected to visit Baku in April.

“This visit coincides with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Azerbaijan. This visit will take place against the backdrop of global political and economic instability. In recent years, the world economy has undergone significant changes and these processes are still going. There are a number of issues that need to be discussed in this situation,” he said, stressing that the visit will focus on many aspects of bilateral relations.

The two countries are expected to sign the Joint Declaration of the heads of the two states, as well as a number of intergovernmental and interdepartmental agreements in the spheres of economy, transport, finance and others.

Highlighting the steadily developing relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, he said that in modern conditions of globalization, the Astana-Baku strategic partnership is becoming increasingly important.

“This mainly relates to the transit potential of our countries since the role of the international transport and transit policy is very important in such a complex global financial and economic situation. The Caucasian route, passing through Azerbaijan, will provide us with access to the markets in Europe. In turn, Kazakhstan opens a gateway for Azerbaijan to the markets of Central Asia and China. Due to the fact that our countries are on the path of the Great Silk Road, transit is one of the most important and promising components of cooperation between our countries,” he said.

The envoy reminded that as the statistics show, due to objective financial and economic circumstances, commodity turnover has significantly decreased in most key actors of the world economy.  “In this regard, we must now define priorities and look for alternative options for supporting the national economy. Proceeding from this, the development of the transit potential of our countries is of principal importance. In the long term, our countries will build up cooperation in this direction,” he said.

Isabayev said that growth is also expected in the oil segment of bilateral cooperation, with the start of production at Kashagan field.

“If we talk about trade and economic relations, I can say that Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan closely cooperate in many spheres. At the end of 2016, mutual trade amounted to $124.38 million, which is up by 7.9 percent compared to 2015. I would also like to note the successful cooperation in the transport sector. Last November an agreement on strategic cooperation was signed between JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy and Caspian Shipping Company JSC, just a few days ago an agreement on the establishment of a joint venture between KTZ Express Shipping and ACSC Logistics was signed,” he said.

The envoy added that on March 1, 2017, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia agreed terms for carrying out cargo transportation by rail and ferry in the directions of Alat-Aktau-Alat and Alat-Kuryk-Alyat.

“Today the world is undergoing drastic geopolitical changes and the world economy is experiencing another crisis. However, we have sufficient potential to jointly overcome this crisis. And now our task is to use it correctly,” he added.

The ambassador also stressed that  that Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan always share common views and similar positions within the multilateral format of cooperation, like the UN, OIC, the Turkic Council, as well as on major international and regional issues and support each other's foreign policy initiatives.

He pointed out that the countries can strengthen cooperation in the spheres of culture, sports and tourism.

Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are both Turkic countries and share close historical, religious and cultural ties. Today, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are more interested in intensification of cooperation in many areas, particularly logistics and infrastructure.