Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan strengthen ties for massive global infrastructure and energy projects

Azerbaijan's president Ilham Aliyev and his Kazakhstan counterpart president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed 15 agreements covering energy, transport, industry and artificial intelligence, during Aliyev's state visit to Kazakhstan.

The visit marks the 20th anniversary of the Treaty on Strategic Partnership and Allied Relations between the two countries, and it signals a major economic offensive for the two countries together with their neighbours within the Organisation of Turkic states.

The so-called Middle Corridor, which connects Europe and Asia, including China, through Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, is a strategic connectivity project for the region and globally, as traffic is shifting from traditional routes, which include Russia.

Kazakhstan's president announced that the Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, keeps growing in freight traffic, with a major cargo hub being built along the way, including a Trans-Caspian ferry system for new supply chains.

Freight traffic along this key Eurasian link grew by 62% last year to 4.5 million tons, and countries plan to increase that figure to 10 million tons. Tokayev highlighted efforts to remove “bottlenecks” and harmonise tariffs along the corridor.

Aliyev, for his part, emphasised the strategic importance of the Zangezur Corridor, a new transport route connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan and onward to Turkey. He said its completion would further boost regional logistics capacity by 2028.

Both sides also pledged to double bilateral trade to $1 billion (€861 million) in the near future, with a growing volume of joint ventures in agriculture, IT and other domains.

The presidents also signed energy agreements and a framework for a joint investment mechanism between Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR).

Another key project is the Caspian subsea cable project, expected to enhance regional electricity trade and strengthen the countries’ positions in renewable energy exports.

Kazakhstan also plans to expand oil shipments through Azerbaijan’s Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline, which carried 1.5 million tons of Kazakh crude last year.

Peace in South Caucasus is 'new beginning' for region

The historic peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan sets the stage for an economic revival of the region, and Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are now charting a new phase of cooperation.

President Tokayev commended Aliyev on achieving peace with Armenia. Aliyev, in turn, said that "a new stage is beginning" for the region, while Tokayev called it a "historic" milestone.

"Kazakhstan officially welcomed this important event. I am confident that the agreements reached will strengthen the atmosphere of trust in the South Caucasus and open up new opportunities for universal progress," Tokayev said.

"The initialling of a peace agreement less than two years after the last clashes testifies to the fact that both countries have demonstrated a significant level of political will," Aliyev noted.

During his state visit, Aliyev made the surprise announcement that Azerbaijan lifted all restrictions on cargo transit to Armenia, and the first such transit was the shipment of Kazakh grain.

"I do believe that this is also a good indicator that peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia is no longer just on paper but is already a matter of practice," Aliyev stressed.