BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 24. The Middle Corridor has great prospects and, of course, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have a very important role in the implementation of this project, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said during an expanded meeting with President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Trend reports.
"We have already had a very detailed conversation on the broad agenda of our bilateral relations and international affairs. And we have established that the positions of our countries overlap on all issues. Of course, I would like to thank you for accepting our invitation and paying an official visit to our country. I am sure that this visit will be of great importance for the future development of our relations.
First of all, I would like to thank you once again for awarding me with the highest order of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Altyn Kyran” at the meeting of our delegations. It is a great honor for me to receive this high award, and I view it as a sign of high appreciation for the work Azerbaijan has done to strengthen our relations, as well as the friendship and brotherhood of our peoples.
A presentation of Kazakhstan's gift to Azerbaijan – the Center for the Development of Children's Creativity to be built in the territories liberated from occupation – has just been held, and this is yet another manifestation of the brotherly attitude towards our people, as well as a contribution to the reconstruction of Karabakh we are all currently engaged in.
As for the bilateral agenda, it is quite broad. In the lead-up to your visit, relevant agencies worked thoroughly on many issues. We are about to sign more than 20 documents. Some of them will be signed with our participation and will significantly help to strengthen mutual activity.
With regard to the foreign policy agenda, we cooperate extensively on a wide range of issues in leading international organizations we are members of. We always support each other, and I am sure that this will continue to be the case in the future. The number of international organizations with which we cooperate is quite large, and representatives of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan closely interact in all of them.
Of course, there are great plans for the development of transport and logistical infrastructure. Timely measures have been taken both in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan to create this infrastructure. Now there is talk about linking the cargo flow between our countries and increasing its volume, thereby increasing the transit potential of our countries. Relevant bodies have been actively cooperating in this direction for some time now. In my opinion, the Middle Corridor has great prospects and, of course, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have a very important role in the implementation of this project.
I am sure that we will promote the development of economic and commercial relations. There are still great reserves for increasing the turnover of goods. We have also exchanged views on some directions of future economic and commercial cooperation, and we can specify it in terms of increasing mutual supplies. There are also great prospects in the field of investment. Both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have a very positive investment environment and a large volume of foreign investments. I think that the time has come for us to join our efforts in this direction and participate in joint investment projects in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and possibly in other countries as well.
Today's gift of Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan – the Center for the Development of Children's Creativity – is yet another component of humanitarian cooperation between our countries. This cooperation is developing successfully. Two days ago, one of the central streets of Sumgayit was named after the outstanding son of the Kazakh people, educator and Turkologist Akhmet Baitursynov. This is one of the signs of respect for our ancestors," the head of state said.