Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan forge gateway to global projects Unlocking transcontinental prosperity

Kazakh President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev's state visit to Azerbaijan has become extremely important in terms of further development of cooperation between the two countries. 

As Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev noted, "we attach great importance to the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan, our brotherly country, our strategic partner and ally".

In turn, Kasym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized that " the efforts of the governments and other relevant departments will be aimed at full implementation of all the agreements reached during the meeting".

Famous Kazakh political analysts told Caliber.Az about the peculiarities of Tokayev's visit to Azerbaijan and what makes cooperation between the countries unique.

Thus, according to Talgat Kaliyev, candidate of political sciences, member of the National Kurultai under the President of Kazakhstan, the relations between Baku and Astana can be called exemplary - this is what relations between brotherly, friendly countries look like.

"This is a high degree of trust, warm, sincere relations between the leaders. Their statements and interaction show that they are close in spirit, mentality, there is a mutual desire for each other of our countries and peoples, and this is very clearly manifested in every meeting. There is a clear growth of all indicators between Baku and Astana in the economic sphere, a decline was observed only during the pandemic period. Especially important for our countries is the development of the Middle Corridor, which turns out to be the only alternative and shortest route from China to Europe, especially now that Russia is isolated. It has become an important priority in the world of logistics for many countries, attracting interest from China, the European Union and even the United States. Even the president of Germany, having flown to Kazakhstan, visited the port of Kuryk to assess the possibilities of this corridor. Therefore, I think one of the main issues of the visit was to discuss the prospects for the development of the corridor, what and where to do to expand its opportunities and potential," Kaliyev said.

According to him, a relevant roadmap has already been signed between the parties. Also on the agenda is the discussion of the modernization of railway tracks.

"In Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, we are dealing with a sample of the Soviet railroad, which needs to be remodelled to Western standards. We also need to carry out a general unification of the communication system along the entire length of the route, its digitalization, simplification of logistics, customs and other procedures," the political scientist noted.

In his opinion, this is the first direction of the visit, and the second is interaction within the framework of the Turkic project.

"Because, if you remember, the Organization of Turkic States was created on the initiative of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, respectively, and on our shoulders lies most of the responsibility, as the project will be implemented. Moreover, in his inaugural speech Ilham Aliyev emphasized the importance of Turkic integration, and therefore, I think, it was one of the main issues on the agenda of the meeting," Kaliyev emphasized.

According to Adil Kaukenov, chief expert of KISI (Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies), Master of International Law, Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan relations have not only bilateral but also great regional and even continental value.

"As Kazakhstan for Azerbaijan is a big gateway to Central Asia, and thanks to the Trans-Caspian route - to all Asia, including Southeast Asia, so Azerbaijan, in turn, is a gateway for Kazakhstan to the South Caucasus and further - to Europe and the Middle East. And this new linkage of regional cooperation between the two centres could not happen without positive dynamics on the part of Baku and Astana, where the Caspian Sea has become a space for combining ties and opportunities. And, as the leaders of the two states have repeatedly emphasized in their communication, it is important to make these uniting routes meet the highest quality indicators. To realize these goals, international investors are attracted - foreign transnational companies, which, seeing the high dynamics, record growth of the economies of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, are ready to invest in this, to transfer technologies. So now between our countries, we see the growth of not only bilateral cooperation, but also an increase in the number of global transcontinental projects," Kaukenov emphasized.

On the other hand, according to the Kazakh politician, publicist and political scientist Petr Svoik, cooperation with Azerbaijan from the point of view of strategic logistics of transport flows for Kazakhstan is difficult to overestimate; it is one of the top three priority areas for Astana.

"And it is not in vain that President Tokayev is making a visit to Azerbaijan for the second time, and, by the way, it is absolutely not by chance that it coincides with the visit of the Russian Prime Minister to Azerbaijan. The fact is that a number of important logistics projects, including the Middle Corridor, is the link on which, I would say, both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are tied without alternative. Although, ironically, they are neither its main senders nor recipients. But at the same time, they are the most important transportation and logistics hubs of the Middle Corridor, and here the cooperation between Baku and Astana is extremely promising," the expert said.

Also, Svoik notes that we should not forget the leading role of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in the work of the Organization of Turkic States, where both states are key players even taking into account the presence of Türkiye.

"So let's wish success to our presidents and their focus on strategic victories in the new geopolitical reality", summarized Svoik.