ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement to establish a joint logistics company that will engage in unifying tariffs and handling all cargo on the Trans-Caspian International Route (TITR), the Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service reported.
The agreement was signed at a June 22 meeting between Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov and Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov.
Georgia, where Smailov has arrived on an official visit to negotiate with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, also signed the document.
Kazakh Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Marat Karabayev revealed the new company’s main task to carry out cargo transportation between China and Europe, simplifying all processes.
He said the company will reduce delivery time to 18 days this year and 10-15 days further on.
Smailov, who was in Baku on the official visit, said that the Kazakh government is ready to continue intensive work with Azerbaijan to implement the tasks set at the highest level. One of them is unlocking full potential of the TITR.
Since the beginning of 2023, Smailov noted cargo traffic through the TITR has exceeded one million tons, a 64% increase compared to last year.
The Kazakh Prime Minister outlined major projects put into operation to eliminate bottlenecks on the route. Among them are the construction of two railway tracks on the Dostyk-Moyinty section, a container hub in the port of Aktau, and a bypass railway line of the Almaty station.
“We halved transit time through the territory of Kazakhstan from 12 to six days, and now we intend to reduce it to five days by the end of this year,” Smailov said, pointing out the need for similar work on the Azerbaijan’s section.
He emphasized the importance of joint measures to digitalize the TITR, which will significantly increase transparency and throughput rate.
According to Smailov, Kazakhstan is also ready to increase its supplies to Azerbaijan in 100 commodity items worth over $300 million to bring mutual trade to $1 billion.
Azerbaijan is a brotherly and friendly country for Kazakhstan, a key partner in the South Caucasus region, Smailov noted, adding that relations in both bilateral and multilateral formats are built on the principles of strategic partnership and alliance.
The Azerbaijani Prime Minister reiterated that the ties between the countries have grown to the level of strategic partnership, referring to the high rates of bilateral trade and economic relations last year.
“The growth stood at over 4.5 times. We hope that this year’s rates and volumes will correspond to these indicators, with the dynamics going upward,” he said.
Asadov highlighted upward trend in oil and gas, transit, and logistics, as well as railway transportation and transit.
One of the documents signed at the meeting was also an agreement to increase the number of flights between the countries from 32 to 42 flights per week.
Following the meeting, the sides also signed an agreement on the basic principles of establishment and operation of a joint venture between national railway companies, a memorandum of strategic cooperation on the transit of Kazakh oil through Azerbaijan, memorandums of understanding on cooperation in tourism, sports and culture, an action plan of the agreement on cooperation in labor, employment and social protection of the population, a memorandum on the supply of ships and railway locomotives, and an agreement on the joint venture for laying the fiber-optic communication line on the Caspian Sea bed.
Source : Astana Times
