ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized the importance of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov’s official visit to Astana on March 11 in strengthening multifaceted interstate ties, reported Akorda.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev with Jeyhun Bayramov. Photo credit: Akorda
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.
The parties discussed major strategic projects, including the fiber-optic communication line and deep-sea electric cable along the bottom of the Caspian Sea. They also explored trade, investment, digitization, transit and transport cooperation.
At 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. The parties confirmed their intention to raise this figure to $1 billion.
Murat Nurtleu with Jeyhun Bayramov. Photo credit: gov.kz
They highlighted the successful collaboration in transporting Kazakhstan’s energy resources via Azerbaijan. By the end of 2024, oil transported through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline reached 1.4 million tons, with expectations to reach 2.2 million tons annually in the near future.
The sides agreed to intensify cooperation in agriculture, industrial cooperation, space, and telecommunications cooperation. The Kazakh-Azerbaijani Investment Fund for Direct Investments, established in 2024, enhances the dialogue.
The parties also focused on cultural and humanitarian cooperation. Over the past two years, the Days of Culture of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have received a wide public response. In March, Baku hosted the Days of Kazakh Higher Education, during which 23 Kazakh universities signed 40 memorandums on inter-university cooperation.
The meeting concluded with signing the Plan of Inter-Ministerial Cooperation for 2025-2026.
