President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev meets with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev [PHOTOS/VIDEO]

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The heads of state first had a short dialogue.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev: I have a large delegation with me.

President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, indeed.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev: They are members of the government.

President Ilham Aliyev: I am pleased to see all our guests. This shows that our agenda is quite broad.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev: Bilateral relations and cooperation with Azerbaijan are a priority for us.

President Ilham Aliyev: So are they for us.

Thanking the President of Kazakhstan for visiting Baku, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich, thank you for participating in this event. We believe that this is a good opportunity for jointly discussing the issues related to the future of our interaction in both bilateral and multilateral formats.

As far as our bilateral agenda is concerned, as you mentioned, the composition of the delegation is quite an indicator of that. There are many topics. There is maximum efficiency in all areas of our cooperation. We are good friends, brothers and partners. Therefore, the dynamics of contacts between us within the framework of official visits between government members of our countries and companies in recent years is quite visible. Indeed, I think we are approaching the highest level of mutual activity in the entire history of the independent development of our countries. This is very gratifying. First of all, it is a logical reflection of the spirit and nature of relations between our peoples, and it is also the requirement of our time. Today, we are implementing very important energy and transport projects in the Caspian and indeed in the broader region by joining our efforts in a number of fields. Of course, this is underpinned by a good foundation that has been laid within the economic development of our countries.

As we conclude 25 years of the SPECA Program today, perhaps every country can see how far we have advanced. It is gratifying to see that the friendly and brotherly relations between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are being filled with new content today. Thank you very much for taking the time to participate in this event. Our contacts have become quite regular recently. We already met in Kazakhstan this month. Therefore, I think we will also plan on the dynamics of contacts next year.

We look forward to welcoming you on a state visit next year. I believe that we will prepare well for that visit with new ideas and new results. You are welcome again!

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said:

- Thank you. I am very happy to be visiting the wonderful city of Baku. In my remarks, I would like to call Baku the pearl of the Caspian region. There is no exaggeration here, because I have been to many cities. In principle, I believe that Baku is one of the most beautiful cities on a broad international scale. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you and all the fraternal people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of a historic event of the century – restoration of the country's territorial integrity in accordance with international law and resolutions of the United Nations. This has been possible thanks to your strong and authoritative leadership, your far-sighted and visionary policy aimed at strengthening your statehood, improving the well-being of your people and enhancing the reputation of your country in the international arena. In my opinion, this is a truly historic event, and all countries that consider themselves brothers and friends of Azerbaijan are happy about it.

I agree with you that the cooperation between our countries is on an upward trend, new projects are emerging. We have no questions to each other. We are truly strategic partners and actual neighbors on the Caspian Sea. The adoption of the Joint Declaration on the strengthening of strategic relations and the deepening of alliance, as well as the establishment of the Supreme Interstate Council, is also a historic event. As I mentioned, taking this opportunity, I decided to come to Baku with a full delegation. Because I believe that the negotiations in today's meetings in Azerbaijan will be very extensive.

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The President of Kazakhstan congratulated President Ilham Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan on the restoration of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and emphasized that these successes had been achieved as a result of the visionary policy of the President of Azerbaijan.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that the construction of a creativity center named after Kurmangazy in the city of Fuzuli was a contribution to the ongoing restoration and construction work in Karabakh.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked the President of Kazakhstan for the congratulation and for the Kurmangazy creativity center.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed his gratitude for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of his father, prominent Kazakh writer Kemel Tokayev, and for the publication of his work “Night Fire”.

The sides noted with satisfaction that Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan always support each other in international organizations, and that cooperation between them in the fields of economy, trade and transport was expanding. The heads of state conducted an exchange of views on the transportation of Kazakh oil across the territory of Azerbaijan and the use of Azerbaijan’s transport infrastructure, as well as the development of transport and logistical facilities and the Trans-Caspian transport corridor. The presidents also stressed the importance of the “Digital Silk Road” project, the issue of extending a cable along the Caspian seabed and expressed their satisfaction with cooperation between the two countries. The sides also described the establishment of multimodal cooperation involving Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye on the middle corridor and the establishment of a separate company as a positive development in terms of developing transport and logistical opportunities. The two leaders noted the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan trilateral cooperation in the field of energy, the extension of an electric cable under the Caspian Sea and future exports to Europe.

President Ilham Aliyev stated that, along with the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, Azerbaijan was currently making a contribution to increasing the throughput capacity and transport opportunities of an alternative corridor passing through the southern regions of Azerbaijan across the territory of Iran in the direction to Nakhchivan and the construction of the Kars-Igdir railway line by Türkiye.

During the conversation, the sides emphasized the importance of SPECA, noting that this Summit was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Program.

The President of Azerbaijan noted with pleasure that in addition SPECA member countries, this Summit was being joined by Hungary and Georgia, which are friends and partners for regional states. It was mentioned that Hungary and Georgia were also partner countries in terms of transport and logistical capabilities.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged ideas on cooperation in cultural and humanitarian fields.