Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan Strengthen Strategic Ties with Major Infrastructure and Energy Deals

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have reinforced their strategic partnership with the signing of 15 new agreements covering energy, transport, industry, and artificial intelligence during Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s state visit to Astana.

The visit coincides with the 20th anniversary of the Treaty on Strategic Partnership, signaling a renewed push for economic collaboration between the two Turkic nations, The Caspian Post reports via foreign media.

A major focus of the summit was the Middle Corridor, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route linking Europe and Asia via Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said freight traffic on the corridor increased 62 per cent last year to 4.5 million tons, with plans to double it to 10 million tons, stressing the importance of removing bottlenecks and harmonizing tariffs.

President Aliyev highlighted the Zangezur Corridor, connecting Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan and Türkiye, describing it as “strategically important” and expected to boost logistics by 2028.

Both leaders committed to doubling bilateral trade to $1 billion, while expanding cooperation in agriculture, IT, and renewable energy. Key agreements included a joint investment framework between Kazakhstan’s Samruk-Kazyna fund and the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), along with energy deals and a Caspian subsea cable project aimed at enhancing electricity trade and green energy exports. Kazakhstan will also increase oil shipments through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

The summit also marked a significant development for the South Caucasus. President Tokayev praised ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan peace efforts as a “milestone,” while President Aliyev announced that Azerbaijan has lifted all cargo transit restrictions to Armenia, with the first shipment being Kazakh grain, calling it “proof that peace is already in practice.”