ASTANA – Recent years have become a period of closer ties between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan not only in politics and economics but also at the level of the expert community and societies, Director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KazISS) Yerkin Tukumov said during the fourth meeting of the Kazakh-Azerbaijani Expert Council on April 23, reported KazISS’s press service.
Photo credit: KazISS
Tukumov expressed confidence that the established contact and trust at the business level between the countries can significantly expand the horizons of cooperation. He noted that Kazakhstan is prepared to increase the export of 130 types of non-commodity goods to Azerbaijan, exceeding $340 million, which would provide a strong impetus to diversification and industrial cooperation.
Tukumov also pointed out positive dynamics in transport and transit ties, citing a 62% increase in cargo movement along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route last year, reaching 4.5 million tons.
“The volume of oil transportation via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline totaled 1.4 million tons, and we expect to reach 2.2 million tons per year in the medium term,” he noted.
Tukumov proposed focusing on areas such as infrastructure synergy, digital seamlessness, and regional research development.
Kazakh Ambassador to Azerbaijan Alim Bayel highlighted the deepening of humanitarian ties, citing the first Kazakh university education exhibition in Baku, which involved 23 universities, over 1,000 students, and more than 40 memorandums of cooperation.
