Kazakhstan expresses interest in BTK railway project
By Jamila Babayeva
Once commissioned, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will give impetus to the development of trade relations in the region, Deputy Director of Kazakh Foreign Ministry's Department on CIS, Kadyr Kasabulatov said in his interview with Azerbaijani reporters.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is a regional project that connects Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey together. The construction of the BTK railway is expected to be accomplished in late 2015.
Kasabulatov underscored that Kazakh business sectors are very interested in this project, adding that the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan is growing year by year.
"The volume of bilateral trade turnover between the two countries totaled $434.3 million in 2013, which was 11.2 percent more than in 2012. The volume of Kazakh export stood at $361.2 million, while its import totaled $73.1 million," he said.
He added that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan hit $150 million (the export from Kazakhstan stood at $131 million, while the import amounted to $19 million).
Kasabulatov stressed that the traditional commodities exported from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan, were mineral resources, chemical raw materials, corn, barley, tobacco products, carbon steel and electrical equipment. Kazakhstan, for its part, imports petroleum products, polymers and construction structures from Azerbaijan.
He went on to add that Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have great capacities for the development of trade and economic cooperation, however, the current trade turnover doesn't match these capacities.
Kasabulatov emphasized the importance of increasing the activities in this sphere.
Meanwhile, he stressed that the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation makes significant contribution to the development of this sphere.
In 2013, Baku hosted the 10th meeting of the commission that was focused on the issues of energy, transit and transport potential, agriculture, education, tourism and culture.
"The next meeting of the intergovernmental commission is to be held in Astana in 2014," Kasabulatov said.
He underscored that Kazakhstan's western regions have expanded their relations with Azerbaijan, adding that government and business representatives of Kazakh regions have begun to hold regular meetings with their Azerbaijani counterparts.