Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan strengthen ties for massive global infrastructure and energy projects

The leaders of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have outlined a roadmap for significant infrastructure and energy initiatives within their strengthened strategic partnership, representing two of the region’s economic powerhouses.

Source: EuroNews

During President Ilham Aliyev’s state visit to Kazakhstan, he and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed 15 agreements that encompass energy, transportation, industry, and artificial intelligence.

This visit commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Treaty on Strategic Partnership and Allied Relations between the two nations, signaling a robust economic initiative alongside their neighbors in the Organisation of Turkic States.

The Middle Corridor, a strategic connectivity project linking Europe and Asia—including China—via Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, is gaining prominence as traffic shifts away from traditional routes involving Russia.

President Tokayev announced that the Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, is experiencing increased freight traffic, with a major cargo hub being developed, including a Trans-Caspian ferry system to facilitate new supply chains.

Last year, freight traffic along this vital Eurasian link surged by 62%, reaching 4.5 million tons, with plans to elevate this figure to 10 million tons. Tokayev also emphasized efforts to eliminate “bottlenecks” and standardize tariffs along the corridor.

Aliyev highlighted the strategic significance of the Zangezur Corridor, a new transportation route connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan and extending to Turkey. He noted that its completion is expected to enhance regional logistics capacity by 2028.

Both leaders committed to doubling bilateral trade to $1 billion (€861 million) in the near future, fostering a growing number of joint ventures in agriculture, IT, and other sectors.

They also signed energy agreements and established a framework for a joint investment mechanism between Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund, Samruk-Kazyna, and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR).

Another crucial initiative is the Caspian subsea cable project, anticipated to boost regional electricity trade and fortify both countries’ positions in renewable energy exports.

Kazakhstan is also set to increase oil shipments through Azerbaijan’s Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline, which transported 1.5 million tons of Kazakh crude last year.