Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr E. Huseynov, A. Gasymova / Trend's exclusive interview with Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister, Marat Tajin, on the eve of Azerbaijani President's official visit to Kazakhstan.
Question: How do you assess the present level of the relationships between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan? Which are, in your opinion, the prospects for cooperation?
Answer: Firstly, I would like to note that Kazakhstan regards Azerbaijan as a key state in the Caucasus region, as a prospective partner in implementation of oil and gas, transport and communications projects, as well as in cooperation and provision of security in the Caspian Sea and counteraction to new challenges. The 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relationships between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan will strike this year (27 August).
Now the relationships between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are livening up, intensification of contacts is on a high level, and that enables the deepening of a political dialogue, extension of trade and economic cooperation, and a new level for interaction between the two countries.
In June 2006, the President of the Azerbaijan Republic, Ilham Aliyev, participated in the second summit of the Council of Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia in Astana. An agreement on support and assistance to oil transportation from Kazakhstan via the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan to the international markets through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan system, which is a prospective field of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, was signed within the framework of the summit.
The Kazakh Prime Minister, Mr. Masimov, paid a visit to Baku in April of this year. Notably, the visit became a new reference point for trade and economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, for it enabled the two countries to mark the essential directions of mutual interest. The negotiations with the Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani Prime Minister, Mr. Rasizadeh, were held during the visit. The actual topics regarding use of the TRACECA transport corridor, Kazakhstan's joining the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, sea transport communications between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan were discussed at the negotiations. A grain terminal, which is operated by the Food Contract Corporation JSC from the Kazakhstan's side, was opened in Baku. The urgent issues on development of bilateral relationships, in particular in energy, transport-transit, tourism, and agriculture fields, were also considered during the Baku visit.
It must be said that the positions of the two countries regarding the actual problems of regional and international security often coincide. Political cooperation within international and regional organizations is successful. Development and fortification of interaction between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in determination of the legal status of the Caspian Sea is of great interest.
At the same time, development and implementation of precise trade and economic projects and search of more efficient joint activities in the transit field is necessary for more optimal bilateral cooperation between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
I would like to stress that trusting political dialogue provides for a good foundation for dynamic development of trade and economic cooperation. All these positive trends were consolidated during the visit of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, Elmar Mammadyarov to Kazakhstan at the end of February this year. I am sure the upcoming official visit of President Aliyev to Kazakhstan, to take place in August, will provide a good impetus for bilateral cooperation.
Question: Which urgent issues will be considered during the Azerbaijani President's official visit to Kazakhstan?
Answer: As I noted, we attach great importance to this visit. The two heads of state plan to discuss a range of bilateral issues and interaction in the multilateral format. At present, a range of bilateral documents are under the consideration of the two countries and we hope to succeed in preparing their approval during the visit. Surely, the upcoming meetings and talks in Astana will considerably encourage the expansion of our cooperation on consolidating agreements achieved earlier, and on issues concerning international and regional policy. Intensive contracts at the official level create favorable conditions for productivity at the top level.
Question: Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have signed an intergovernmental agreement on joint oil pumping via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. What are Kazakhstan's expectations on further cooperative developments regarding exporting their own oil via Azerbaijan to world markets?
Answer: An agreement on oil transportation from Kazakhstan via the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan through the Baku-Tbilisi -Ceyhan export pipeline, signed on 16 June 2006 by the Presidents of the two countries, is obvious proof of a practical realization of priorities determined during the previous meetings of the two heads of state and stresses the importance of energy in our cooperation. The establishment of the new transport system will enable the insurance of the transportation of the light Kashagan oil by maintaining its quality. The Trans-Caspian transport system will also ensure the transportation of 5mln t of oil at the initial stage with a further increase up to 38mln t a year. At present, work is being carried out over the establishment of the Kazakhstan Caspian Transportation System (KCTS), allocated for exporting increasing volumes of Kazakh oil which will be the first of oil produced from the fields of Kashagan and Tengiz, via the Caspian Sea to the internationals markets through the East-West energy corridor via the Aktau-Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan route. KCTS is expected to transport 25mln t of oil at the initial stage with a further increase of its discharge capacity to 38/60mln t a year. This project will contribute to the establishment of the necessary conditions for Kazakh oil transportation through the BTC energy corridor.
Question: Is Kazakhstan considering the possibility of participating in the project on establishment of a railway via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars as an investor? What do you expect from the transportation of Kazakh cargo via this route?
Answer: In terms of transportation, priority is given to the participation of the two countries in the project on the international transport corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (ТRАСЕCА). In this respect, the alternative and prospective direction of cooperation is a project on a new railway route Baku-Tbilisi-Kars. Kazakhstan is attentively observing the development of a project in the construction of a railway, while simultaneously studying the technical side of the project. We are actively implementing the construction and development of its infrastructure, expansion of the opportunities of the Aktau port, and the construction of an automobile and railway route. In this context, the construction of the Beynau-Zhezkazgan railway route via Kazakhstan through involving the Aktau Port will promote the increase of Kazakh and Indian cargo flow in the direction of the Caucasus and onwards to Europe.
Question: As you know, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have reached an agreement on the division of the of the Caspian seabed. They hold identical positions on the definition of the Caspian Sea status. In this respect it would interesting to hear your comments on the recent meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Caspian littoral countries. Are there any positive changes in the negotiation and what results have the sides achieved?
Answer: First of all, I would like to note that meeting of the foreign Ministers of Caspian littoral countries is traditional. This event pursued several targets.
The negotiation process to define the legal status of the Caspian Sea continues. The Caspian littoral countries hold active bilateral, trilateral, and multilateral talks in all directions and regarding all elements of the future legal status of the Caspian Sea. Since the beginning of the talks, the various parties have carried out much useful work. A Special Working Group (SWG) has been established and functions to devise a Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea at the level of Deputy Foreign Ministers of the Caspian littoral countries. An Agreement on differentiation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea was signed and came into force to ensure the sovereign rights to use the Caspian Sea and it provides an opportunity to Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Russia to legally define their national sections of the Sea.
It is honorable to highlight the signing of the first document by the five Caspian littoral countries - the Framework Convention on protection of the sea environment in the Caspian - which was signed in November 2003 in Tehran. The unified efforts of the Caspian countries to take all necessary measures to ensure ecological security of the Caspian Sea and preserve its unique ecosystem for the future generations has already produced results.
There are a number of conceptual issues which fail to be agreed upon between the sides now. In order to resolve these issues, which require making political and volitional decisions the consultations of the Foreign Ministers and the presidential summits are being held. The meeting of the Council of the Foreign Ministers of the Caspian Countries in Teheran is not excluded.
Within the framework of the special working group, the delegations of the littoral countries developed a project of the Declaration of the Caspian Countries and submitted it to their Foreign Ministers for consideration and further signing at the presidential level.
During the ministerial meeting, we succeeded in finally coordinating the project of the Declaration including its separate regulations which had been previously disputed. The negotiations showed that the geopolitical situation in the region, the interest of the world's community for the Caspian Sea, regarding hydrocarbon resources and valuable species of sturgeon, and the necessity in the juridical determination of the legal status of the Caspian Sea in order to enable the littoral countries to take up any activities on the basis of civilized regulations and universally recognized norms of the international law and taking into consideration their national interests, make the various parties want to search for compromises and solutions of actual topics. So, it cannot be said that the positions of several countries remain invariable and non-constructive. The fact that the Caspian countries achieved a unified political vision of the future of the Caspian Sea is proof of that.
Given the project of the Declaration is ready for signing, the sides agreed to hold a presidential summit of the five Caspian countries in the near future. The Foreign Ministries are presently coordinating the summit's agenda and schedule.
On the whole, it can be said with optimism that the general mood of the 'Caspian Five' implies constructivism, readiness to get closer, activity in integration processes in the region, and mutual contacts on the presidential and governmental level. All this give hope for a settlement of the issue on the legal status of the Caspian Sea in the near future.