Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan plan to expand bilateral relations especially in the energy field, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natig Aliyev said on December 10.

He made the remarks after a meeting of the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation.

"We discussed the development of cooperation which literally covers all spheres. The economic and trade relations between our countries also demonstrate growth. The bilateral trade turnover grew by 42 percent in a year despite observed negative dynamics resulted from the global economic crisis in 2012," Aliyev said.

"Energy is one of the important fields of cooperation between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan," the minister highlighted.

"As is known, the Kazakh oil is transported via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. The heads of the two countries pursue a correlated energy policy. No energy project in the Caspian Sea region is implemented without participation of our countries. We actively work on the development of interactions in the energy sphere. Azerbaijan is looking forward to the commissioning of the largest Kazakh field Kashagan. It will be possible to deliver the product of the field to world markets via BTC and other Azerbaijani pipelines," Aliyev said.

The official went on to note that Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan also intend to take measures for the development of cooperation in the fields of culture and tourism.

"Furthermore, there is also a great potential for the development of Azerbaijani-Kazakh relations in tourism," he explained.

Kazakhstan's Deputy Oil and Gas Minister Magzum Mirzagaliyev, for his part, said that the current level of trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan does not meet the two countries' potential.

"Today, the trade turnover between our countries amounts to $360 million. It is obvious that given the potential of both Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan the figure should rise," he said.

The Kazakh official further named the engineering industry as a promising field for cooperation.

"We are ready to work in this direction and assist the export of Azerbaijani products to the Kazakh markets," Mirzagaliyev said.

He also said establishment of new production facilities in Kazakhstan is another priority for cooperation.

"If Azerbaijani enterprises come to Kazakhstan and establish joint ventures, I am sure the joint ventures will enjoy big support from not only both governments, but also oil and gas companies," he said.

He further urged the two countries to facilitate the situation for increasing the number of such enterprises.

Mirzagaliyev went on to note that the construction of a large logistics center in Kazakhstan's Aktau city is also being discussed.

"This center will import the agricultural goods to Kazakhstan and further distribute them in the domestic markets of the country. We should work on such projects both in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. The Kazakh delegation has held meetings with the representatives of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Economy and Industry. During the meeting it was noted that the complex will come on stream in a year and half," he said.

A memorandum of understanding on the construction of logistics center in the Mangistau region of Kazakhstan was signed between Azersun Holding, Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO), and JSC Special Economic Zone 'Seaport Aktau' in Baku on August 14.

Mirzagaliyev also said the volume of Kazakh oil delivered to Azerbaijan is estimated to reach 3 million tons in 2013.

"There is potential for further increase of delivery. In particular, Tengizchevroil Company (TCO) announced that it has started discharging oil to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline," he said.

The Kazakh official also noted that there are all conditions for increasing the discharge of oil to Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan to four million tons in 2014.

"This year TCO has already discharged 200,000 tons of oil. Next year, as we expect, this figure will significantly grow," he said.

Earlier, Head of the Investment Department of the Azerbaijani Energy Ministry Ramiz Rzayev said four million tons of Kazakh oil will be transported through Azerbaijan in 2014.

Tengizchevroil Consortium, which is engaged in developing Kazakhstan's Tengiz and Korolev oil fields, has signed an agreement to resume oil transportation through the BTC pipeline.

Oil transportation through the pipeline had come to a stop in 2008.

Azerbaijanis and Kazakhs are both Turkish-speaking nations and share close historical, religious and cultural ties. Both are littoral states of the Caspian Sea and possess a common maritime border. About 130,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis live in Kazakhstan.

A solid legal basis has been established between the two countries. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have signed more than 90 documents, including 20 documents in the economic field, in particular on the investment protection, and avoiding double taxation. These documents positively affect the development of trade relations between the two countries.

About 740 enterprises with Azerbaijani capital operate in Kazakhstan, while 35 companies with Kazakh assets work in Azerbaijan.