Azerbaijani, Kazakh PMs discuss transport, energy cooperation

BAKU. June 22 (Interfax) - Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov and Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov discussed a broad range of issues at a meeting in Baku on Thursday, including cooperation in the transport and logistics, energy, and agricultural sectors.

"During the negotiations, the parties extensively discussed aspects of interaction in such sectors as trade, transport and logistics, energy, and agriculture. In addition, they considered plans to implement joint IT projects and cultural and humanitarian initiatives," the Kazakh government said in a statement on its website.

Smailov described Azerbaijan as "a fraternal and friendly country and a key partner in the South Caucasus region."

"The Kazakh government stands ready to continue actively working together to practically attain objectives set at the top level. In particular, to bring the volume of mutual trade to $1 billion in the near future, Kazakhstan is willing to increase its supplies of 100 commodity items worth over $300 million to Azerbaijan," Smailov said.

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are also actively collaborating in the transport-logistics sector, Smailov said. In this context, the full utilization of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route's capacity will play a key role, he said.

The amount of cargo shipped via this route has topped 1 million tonnes, having increased by 64% compared to the same period last year, he said.

At the same time, to eliminate bottlenecks on this route, Kazakhstan is building two rail tracks on the section between Dostyk and Moyinty, a container hub at the Aktau port, and a railway bypassing the Almaty station, it said.

"On the whole, we have managed to halve the time of transit via Kazakhstan's territory to six from 12 days, and we are focused on reducing it to five days by the end of this year," Smailov said, pointing to the importance of corresponding efforts on the Azerbaijani section of the route.

The Kazakh prime minister also highlighted the need for joint measures for the digitalization of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, which should "significantly improve the transparency and speed of cargo passage."

Asadov said the two countries have elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership level over the past years, and "the arrival of a representative Kazakh delegation [to Azerbaijan] indicates the intention to implement the agreements reached by the two heads of state."

"Last year saw high intensity of our bilateral trade-economic relations. [Trade] grew 4.5 times [to $600 million]. We hope the pace and volume of this year will meet these indicators and will see an upward trend," he said.

Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are also actively developing cooperation in the oil-and-gas and transit-logistics sectors, Asadov said. In particular, railway transportation and transit deliveries on the whole have been growing actively, he said.