Transcaspian Corridor: Baku and Astana Form a New Logistical Reality in Eurasia

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev visited Kazakhstan on a state visit on October 21-22. The two brotherly states form a crucial link in the trans-Eurasian land Middle Corridor.

The key topic in the economic agenda of the bilateral negotiations was the logistics of the trans-Caspian route and bilateral trade turnover. It is no coincidence that immediately after negotiations with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the second meeting of the Supreme Interstate Council of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan took place.

New Economic Alliance

Diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are 33 years old. During this time, Baku and Astana have built strong and comprehensive cooperation that covers virtually all areas of development. This is evidenced by a significant legal framework consisting of more than 170 documents of various types - from interstate treaties and agreements to memorandums and protocols, writes the newspaper "Caspian".

Today, the two brotherly states are creating a crucial link in the trans-Eurasian land Middle Transport Corridor, thus institutionalizing a new economic alliance in which Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan already play a decisive role.

Expanding Legal Framework

The engine of Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan cooperation remains the transit of Kazakh oil through Azerbaijan's main pipelines. And if from 2023 to the present, 3.4 million tons of Kazakh oil have been transported to world markets via the BTC pipeline, then by 2027-2028, this figure will reach 7 million tons per year.

The second task is to create joint industrial cooperation projects. This in turn requires expanding and updating the existing legal framework of Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan relations. To some extent, this was facilitated by the first Azerbaijan International Investment Forum (AIIF 2025) held in Baku. Within its framework, recall, an agreement was signed to create a joint venture between Dashkasan Iron Ore and Kazakhstan's Fonte GreenMet Investments, which will build and operate a plant in the Shamkir district of Azerbaijan for the production of hot-briquetted iron (HBI) with a capacity of 2 million tons per year.

The forum also emphasized the role of the Joint Investment Fund in attracting financing for priority infrastructure and production projects of the two countries.

It is symbolic that President Ilham Aliyev's visit took place in the year of the 20th anniversary of the Treaty on Strategic Partnership and Alliance between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. During these years, the countries have established an active political dialogue and created a solid legal framework for the steady development of trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian cooperation.

Complete Alignment of Views

As President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in a statement to the press, the visit of the head of the Azerbaijani state will contribute to bringing Kazakh-Azerbaijani relations to a qualitatively new level, and the agreements reached today will further strengthen the friendly relations between our countries.

In an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect, the parties discussed a wide range of issues on the bilateral agenda, outlining priorities for further multifaceted cooperation. Moreover, as a result of the meeting of the Supreme Interstate Council, a number of important documents were signed. The main goal is to further comprehensively strengthen friendship between the two peoples and give new impetus to cooperation in various fields.

During the negotiations, special attention was paid to expanding trade and economic ties. A decision was made to double bilateral trade turnover in the near future and bring it to 1 billion dollars.

There are also great opportunities in agriculture, energy, manufacturing, construction, and digitalization. Kazakhstan, for example, is building a container hub in Aktau. Good prospects are opened by the construction of a cargo terminal in the port of Alat with the participation of foreign partners, including Chinese partners. During the negotiations, the possibility of creating a new Trans-Caspian ferry system for cargo export was discussed, etc.

In general, the results of the visit clearly demonstrate the mutual readiness to further develop Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan relations in the spirit of strategic partnership and alliance for the well-being of our brotherly peoples.

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