NUR-SULTAN – The foreign and transport ministers of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey convened in Baku to explore ways to boost cooperation in logistics and energy as well as to discuss the regional and international agenda in light of the ongoing geo-political changes occuring in the region, reports the Kazakh Foreign Ministry.
The ministers. Photo credit: Kazakh Foreign Ministry
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi and Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Kairbek Uskenbayev represented Kazakhstan.
Tileuberdi emphasized that Azerbaijan and Turkey are key political and economic partners in the region for Kazakhstan. “Despite the slowdown in economic activity in mutual trade as a result of the pandemic, we now have a serious potential to restore the previous and achieve new indicators of mutually beneficial cooperation,” he added.
The implementation of joint projects, such as railway lines and oil pipelines in the region, was part of the meeting agenda. While opportunities in the European direction remain limited, the routes along the Caspian Sea – Black Sea line are gaining in importance.
The ministers agreed that increasing the volume of transport will require timely modernization of technical and tariff conditions in ports, serving as a driver for trade and economic cooperation.
The development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route is key in increasing the transit potential of the countries. The minister stressed the similarity of approaches to the development of transport potential and confirmed their interest in intensifying direct contacts at the government level.
A follow-up meeting in a similar format is scheduled for fall in Kazakhstan.
