Kazakhstan’s Oil Transit via Azerbaijan Approaches 1.5 Million Tons

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has announced that Kazakhstan’s oil transit through Azerbaijan reached nearly 1.5 million tons.

During the press conference, President Tokayev and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev highlighted the strong potential for energy cooperation between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

President Tokayev expressed satisfaction with the ongoing collaboration on transporting Kazakh oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, noting, “Last year, transit of this strategic resource through Azerbaijan reached almost 1.5 million tons”.

He added that there are plans to significantly increase this volume. President Tokayev also emphasized the strategic importance of a project to install a deep-water electric cable, which “will greatly strengthen our positions in the export of ‘green’ energy.”

Additionally, substantial efforts are underway to supply Kazakh uranium products to foreign markets via Azerbaijan. “In this regard, I would like to express my gratitude to the esteemed President of Azerbaijan for supporting all key initiatives and projects,” he said.

The leaders also acknowledged the expanding opportunities in the IT sector amid rapid advancements in artificial intelligence. Tokayev noted Kazakhstan’s experience in digitalizing public services and advancing IT technologies, expressing the country’s readiness to collaborate on joint projects.

The discussion underscored the urgency of accelerating the fiber-optic communication line project along the Caspian seabed, with governments tasked to “ensure its completion as soon as possible,” according to Tokayev.

As previously reported, Presidents Tokayev and Aliyev held a press conference following bilateral talks and the second meeting of the Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan Supreme Interstate Council in Astana.

Earlier, they issued a joint statement commemorating 20 years since the signing of the Agreement on Strategic Partnership and Allied Relations between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

It is worth noting that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is currently on a two-day state visit to Kazakhstan.

For more on the relations between the two countries and upcoming discussions, read the article by a Kazinform correspondent titled Astana and Baku: Economic pragmatism and cultural kinship.

Ahead of his visit, President Aliyev gave an exclusive interview to Kazinform News Agency, sharing his perspectives on bilateral cooperation with Kazakhstan and ongoing partnerships in trade, energy, culture, and the Organization of Turkic States.