ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 5. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan discussed increasing cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor), Trend reports.
According to the Azerbaijan's Energy Ministry, the discussion took place during the 20th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission (JIC) in Astana on March 5. The Kazakh delegation was headed by the Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev, and the Azerbaijani delegation - by the Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov.
As the ministry noted, during the meeting, issues of expanding cooperation in the oil and gas sector, the possibility of participating in joint projects, increasing the volume of transit of Kazakh oil along various routes, and increasing cargo transportation along the Middle Corridor were discussed.
The parties agreed to take appropriate steps towards completing the construction of the Caspian underwater optical line connecting Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan within the framework of the Digital Silk Road project, preparing in the near future a technical specification document to begin a feasibility study of the project for the supply of electricity along the route Central Asia-Europe.
The Azerbaijani side, noting the serious efforts of both countries in the transition to green energy, expressed its intention to cooperate with Kazakh companies in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
To note, economic turnover between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan reached $529.4 million in 2023, according to Kazakh statistics. The volume of trade turnover increased by 14.2 percent from the same time in 2022 ($463.3 million).
Concurrently, in terms of trade turnover, exports to Azerbaijan totaled $456.3 million over the aforementioned period, which is 21.6 percent higher than from January to December 2022.
Furthermore, from January to December 2023, imports from Azerbaijan fell by 17.3 percent, totaling $73 million. In 2022, imports totaled $88.3 million.