Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 23
By Ali Mustafayev – Trend:
The Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, beginning from the coast of Eastern China and going through Kazakhstan, Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia, provides Kazakhstan with access to the European markets, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Yerbolat Dossayev said.
He made the remarks addressing the 'Strategic Outlook: Eurasia' panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan.23.
He also stressed the importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway connection that was launched in 2017, saying that it allows Kazakhstan to get direct access to the Mediterranean Sea through Turkey.
“Being the largest landlocked country in the world, Kazakhstan realizes best value that this route brought. The nearest seaport is 3,300 km away from us, and we always try to use all the opportunities in this direction,” said Dossayev.
Talking on the regional economic situation, the prime minister stressed that Kazakhstan borders with two largest countries in the world, China and Russia, and that the country always keeps the stability in relations with both countries.
“Over two decades ago our President Nursultan Nazarbayev supported the Customs Union and now we have it. There are no more customs barriers between our countries, and we have a great interest for the Russian economy, which is much bigger than ours. At the same time we have active economic negotiations with other partners,” said the deputy prime minister.
Kazakhstan’s main partners, according to Dossayev, are the European Union, Russia and China.