Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan Enhance Interconnected Relationships
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan highlighted the significance of the official visit of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov to Astana on March 11, stressing the importance of strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries. Bayramov expressed gratitude on behalf of President Ilham Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan for Kazakhstan’s prompt assistance following the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Aktau.
During the visit, discussions were held on various strategic projects, including the fiber-optic communication line and deep-sea electric cable along the bottom of the Caspian Sea. Trade, investment, digitization, transit, and transport cooperation were also explored.
In a meeting with Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu, Bayramov welcomed the fivefold increase in trade turnover over the past five years, reaching $533.4 million in 2024. Both parties confirmed their commitment to elevate this figure to $1 billion.
The successful collaboration in transporting Kazakhstan’s energy resources via Azerbaijan was highlighted, with expectations to reach 2.2 million tons annually through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in the near future. Cooperation in agriculture, industrial projects, space, and telecommunications was also discussed, with the establishment of the Kazakh-Azerbaijani Investment Fund for Direct Investments in 2024 enhancing dialogue between the two nations.
Cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan was emphasized, with events like the Days of Culture of both countries receiving positive responses. Recently, Baku hosted the Days of Kazakh Higher Education, during which 23 Kazakh universities signed 40 memorandums on inter-university cooperation.
The meeting concluded with the signing of the Plan of Inter-Ministerial Cooperation for 2025-2026, solidifying the commitment of both countries to further enhance their bilateral relations.
