Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan ink several documents on cooperation

Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov and his Kazakh counterpart Alikhan Smailov discussed the development of cooperation in a number of areas, expressing commitment to fulfil the instructions of the heads of states to increase cargo traffic via the Middle Corridor.

During the meeting, held during the Kazakh minister’s visit to Baku on June 22, the sides emphasised the development of cooperation in the oil and gas sector, noting with satisfaction the beginning of the supply of Kazakh oil to third-country markets through Azerbaijan, Caliber.Az reports per Cabinet of Ministers.

The two countries' interaction in agricultural, cultural, humanitarian and other spheres was positively assessed.

Besides, the sides also discussed the prospects of developing mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of high technology, telecommunications and renewable energy.

As a result of the meeting, the following documents were signed:

Shareholders' Agreement between LLC AzerTelekom and JSC Kazakhtelecom;

Agreement between CJSC "Azerbaijani Railways", JSC "National Company Kazakhstan Railways" and JSC "Georgian Railways" on the basic principles of the establishment and operation of a joint venture;

Memorandum of strategic cooperation between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan and JSC KazMunayGas for the transit of Kazakh oil through the territory of Azerbaijan;

Memorandum of Understanding between the State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan's Culture and Sports Ministry on cooperation in the field of tourism;

Memorandum of Understanding between Azerbaijan's Youth and Sports Ministry and Kazakhstan's Culture and Sports Ministry on cooperation in the field of sports;

Memorandum of Understanding between Azerbaijan's Ministry of Culture and the Kazakh Culture and Sports Ministry on cooperation in the field of culture;

Action plan on implementation of the agreement between Azerbaijan's  Labour and Social Protection Ministry and Kazakhstan's Labour and Social Protection Ministry on cooperation in the field of labour, employment and social protection for the period from 2023 to 2024;

Protocol of the meeting between Azerbaijan's Digital Development and Transport Ministry and the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan;

Memorandum of Cooperation on Enhancing Transport Interoperability and Digitalization of the Middle Corridor between the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan's Industry and Infrastructure Development Ministry;

Memorandum of Cooperation in the supply of ships and railway locomotives between Azerbaijan's Economy Ministry and the Kazakh Industry and Infrastructure Development Ministry.

Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are strategically located on the shores of the Caspian Sea and have rail networks that connect them to Europe and China, respectively. The two Caspian nations have the potential to develop and improve the transportation infrastructure to increase trade between them and facilitate the transit of goods to other regions.

The key focus of the cooperation in transportation and logistics is leveraging the Middle Corridor and integrating the Zangazur multi-modal route into it. Realization of the corridor’s full potential is expected to contribute to increasing the bilateral trade turnover.

The Trans-Caspian East-West Corridor, known shortly as the Middle Corridor, is crucial to reviving the ancient Silk Road. It traverses on rail and road routes across Georgia, Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea and continues toward China on the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan routes. The Baku International Sea Trade Port (Azerbaijan), Aktau/Kuryk ports (Kazakhstan) and Turkmenbashi Port (Turkmenistan) are the main maritime chunks of the multimodal transport corridor. The Middle Corridor promises even bigger benefits to the landlocked countries in the region.

The Middle Corridor is more economical and faster compared to the Northern Corridor as a trade route between Europe and Asia and shrinks the travel distance by 2,000 kilometres. The Middle Corridor also runs through more favourable climate conditions and shortens the travel time by 15 days compared to the sea route.

Furthermore, the Middle Corridor offers great opportunities for cargo traffic in Asia so that the loads can reach the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean region by integrating the port connections in Türkiye.