ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Georgia are set to boost their bilateral cooperation, as Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov met with his Georgian counterpart Irakli Kobakhidze on Feb. 5 to discuss a range of initiatives aimed at expanding trade, transport, agriculture, and digital collaboration.
Olzhas Bektenov and Irakli Kobakhidze. Photo credit: Prime Minister’s press service.
According to the Prime Minister’s press service, the officials addressed measures to increase trade turnover. Kazakhstan plans to introduce 35 domestically-produced goods valued at over $66 million to the Georgian market. These goods span various industries, including petrochemicals, metallurgy, food, chemicals, and mechanical engineering.
Boosting trade and transport connectivity
A key focus of the talks was enhancing transit and transport links, specifically through the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), known as the Middle Corridor. The goal is to unlock the Middle Corridor’s potential and increase its capacity to 10 million tons annually by 2027. Last year, transportation volume via the TITR surged 62%, reaching 4.5 million tons.
Additionally, Kazakhstan’s transport and logistics investment group is building a multimodal terminal in the Georgian port of Poti, which is expected to be operational by April. With an investment of $30 million, this terminal will manage 120,000 containers annually, said Kazakh Transport Minister Marat Karabayev. Kazakh airlines currently operate 15 direct flights per week to Georgia, which spikes to over 40 flights during the tourist season.
Energy and agriculture partnerships
Bektenov and Kobakhidze also discussed cooperation in the transportation of oil and oil products, with Kazakhstan shipping 1.4 million tons of oil last year via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. There are plans to gradually increase this volume to 2.2 million tons per year.
Agriculture is another promising area for collaboration. The trade volume of agricultural products grew by 12.3% in 2024, totaling $71.2 million. There is potential to expand Kazakhstan’s flour, grain, vegetable oils, pasta, meat, dairy products, and confectionery exports.
To advance these initiatives, Kazakh Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparov is planning to visit Georgia to discuss joint agricultural projects with the Georgian Minister of Agriculture.
Commitment to stronger ties
The meeting also included discussions on cooperation in digitalization and tourism, underscoring the broad scope of Kazakhstan-Georgia relations. Following the talks, both Prime Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to deepening trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian ties.
“I had the opportunity to meet with Olzhas Bektenov in the frames of my visit to Astana. I was delighted to discuss issues of mutual interest in our bilateral partnership and matters of regional importance such as the development of the Middle Corridor to ensure safe transit of goods between Europe and Asia. Georgian-Kazakh partnership carries vital importance for the economic growth of our countries as well as the region,” wrote Kobakhidze on his X account after the meeting.
