The 17th meeting of the Kazakh-Azerbaijani Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation was held

The 17th meeting of the Kazakh-Azerbaijani Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation was held

A regular meeting of the Kazakh-Azerbaijani Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation was held in Baku (Republic of Azerbaijan) today. The Kazakh side is co - chaired by the Minister of Trade and Integration Bakhyt Sultanov, and the Azerbaijani side is co-chaired by the Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov.


The sides discussed topical aspects of bilateral relations.


As Bakhyt Sultanov noted, the IPC platform allows "checking the clock" on the most important and promising areas of cooperation between the two countries.

The last few economic crises, unfortunately, have slowed down the pace of development of our trade and economic cooperation. We need a new impetus to our relations in order to enter the trajectory of sustainable growth. We have a clear indicator - the heads of state have set a task for us: to increase the volume of mutual trade at least 2 times in the near future, " Sultanov said.

For the successful restoration of trade and economic ties, the Kazakh side suggested that Azerbaijan consider the issue of restoring direct flights and work out mutual recognition of vaccination passports. Also, if the Azerbaijani side is interested, the Republic of Kazakhstan is ready to consider the possibility of supplying the KazVak vaccine to Azerbaijan. Kazakhstan is also ready to supply ventilators manufactured in Kazakhstan.


As part of the expansion of mutual trade, Bakhyt Sultanov proposed to consider the possibility of replacing imported goods on our markets with products produced in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.


"The next step for expanding trade and economic relations is, in our opinion, industrial and agricultural cooperation aimed at the production of export-oriented products," Sultanov said.


The Kazakh minister suggested that the Azerbaijani side connect to the Eurasian commodity distribution system being created through the creation of "nodal centers of attraction of agricultural products"on the territory of Azerbaijan. "This will allow us to get "green corridors" for exporting the products of your agro-industrial complex not only to Kazakhstan, but also to the markets of other countries, " the IPC co-chairman noted.
The Minister of Energy, Co-chairman of the Commission Parviz Shahbazov, who spoke at the meeting, congratulated Bakhyt Sultanov on his appointment as co-chairman of the Intergovernmental Commission and wished him success. He noted the important role of the Intergovernmental Commission in the sustainable development of political, economic and humanitarian ties between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan and expressed confidence that today's event will be fruitful in creating new opportunities for further development and strengthening cooperation based on mutual interests. The Minister stressed that Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are bound by strong ties of friendship and brotherhood based on a common history, similar cultural and spiritual values.


Minister Shahbazov also noted that for 7 months of 2021, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to 62 million US dollars and there is a great potential for increasing the volume of export-import operations in all areas of trade cooperation: "152 Kazakhstani enterprises operating in the fields of industry, agriculture, trade, services, construction and transport are registered in Azerbaijan. In 1995-2021, Azerbaijan invested 203.7 million US dollars in Kazakhstan, and Kazakhstan-94.8 million US dollars." It was also noted that there is a positive dynamics of bilateral trade in the energy sector: "Crude oil and petroleum products of Kazakhstan are currently transported through the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan to the Black Sea terminals. In 2020, SOCAR Trading S. A. purchased 106 thousand tons of crude oil of Kazakh origin in order to increase supplies to the world market via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. For seven months of this year, this figure amounted to 71 thousand tons, " the minister added. He also stressed that comprehensive measures are currently being taken in Azerbaijan in the field of energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewable energy sources in energy production and consumption. It was also noted that the possibility of cooperation with Kazakhstani companies interested in exchanging experience in this direction will be considered.

 

Following the meeting, the parties signed the Protocol of the seventeenth meeting of the Kazakh-Azerbaijani Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation.
- Today we discussed a wide range of issues of cooperation between our countries. The new post-market realities of the world economy stimulate the revision of traditional formats. And, assessing the current situation, we need to adapt to new challenges. The data on the trade turnover of our countries clearly show that we do not use the existing potential of cooperation. Kazakhstan is ready to increase the supply of goods in demand by the Azerbaijani economy in the very near future: in the metallurgical industry, in the food industry, in the petrochemical industry, etc. Kazakhstan is also interested in the supply of certain goods.

For example, agricultural products, petrochemicals and a number of other industrial goods.
In addition to traditional trade and economic ties, we can and should build cooperation in the effective restructuring of transport and logistics trade chains. It is important to do this before the full restoration of international trade. According to forecasts, by 2028, the volume of trade flows around the world will grow by 45%. And the main part of logistics will be on land transport. And our task now is to properly integrate our Trans-Caspian transport corridor into the global supply chain, " Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Bakhyt Sultanov commented on the results of the Commission meeting.