Baku, Astana collaborate on enhancing customs operations for global trade growth

On February 25, 2025, Shahin Bagirov, Chairman of Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee, held a discussion with Alim Bayel, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan, regarding cooperation in the customs sector aimed at advancing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TMTM), also known as the Middle Corridor.

According to the Embassy of Kazakhstan, the meeting centred on the current state and future prospects of bilateral cooperation in various fields, including customs, transport and logistics, trade, and economics, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

Ambassador Bayel highlighted the ongoing growth in the transit of Kazakh and Azerbaijani products, as well as goods from third countries, stressing the critical importance of maintaining this positive trend.

"The continuing growth of transit between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, as well as the movement of goods from third countries, is significant," Ambassador Bayel stated. "It is vital that we continue fostering this trend for mutual benefit."

Bayel also emphasized the pivotal role played by the customs authorities of both nations in the successful development of major infrastructure and logistics projects under the TMTM initiative.

In response, Bagirov reaffirmed Azerbaijan's strong commitment to the development of the Middle Corridor, which has become increasingly important in the current geo-economic context. "Given the ongoing geo-economic situation, the Middle Corridor is of growing relevance not only for the Central Asian and South Caucasus regions but also for global trade and transport systems," Bagirov explained.

He further stressed the importance of enhancing cooperation between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan’s customs bodies, advocating for the simplification of procedures, as well as the automation and digitalisation of processes to streamline operations.

"The development of cooperation between our customs structures is key to facilitating smoother operations, and we must focus on simplifying procedures and embracing digital solutions," Bagirov added.

Both sides discussed the current status of their customs cooperation and addressed several specific issues during the meeting. They also exchanged views on the further development of this cooperation to support the Middle Corridor’s success.

“The parties explored current matters in bilateral relations within the customs sphere and laid the groundwork for future collaboration,” the embassy’s statement concluded.

By Tamilla Hasanova