Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan see two-times increase in trade
An increase in trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan was noted by the Energy Ministers of two countries.
An increase in trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan was noted by the Energy Ministers of two countries.
The trade turnover for eight months between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan increased by 2.1 times compared to last year, Kazakh Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said ahead of the 15th meeting of the Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation
“That is about $168 million. In 2017, an instruction was given to double the turnover in the next 2-3 years. But we assume that if such trends continue, then we will have to complete the task of doubling the turnover prematurely, before the end of the year. It is important that the Azerbaijani side, at our request, has resumed purchases of Kazakh grain. This also gave rise to a turnover,” he added.
Exports have more than doubled and imports have grown by about 75-76 percent for eight months, Bozumbayev stated.
“The Azerbaijani side supplies metal structures, ferrous metal products, pipes, and so on, which is used in the west of the country when conducting oil operations and upgrading the Tengiz field. We, in turn, supply agricultural, engineering and petroleum products,” the Kazakh minister explained.
Parviz Shahbazov also expressed his opinion on the results of cooperation for the current period.
“Over the past period of 2018 there was a serious increase in trade turnover. We have such a wide range of mutual cooperation covering a lot of areas - economics, culture, humanitarian issues, that it is very difficult to answer this question unequivocally. We have multilateral cooperation on almost all issues,” he said.
“Today is the 15th meeting of our intergovernmental commission, where we will summarize the results of the past year. We have a very lengthy and informative draft document that we are going to sign today. And I believe that we will do even more work in continuation of our work last year within the framework of the roadmap,” Parviz Shahbazov added.
It is worth noting that exports from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan in January-August 2018 amounted to $134.6 million, which is 115.3 percent higher than in the same period of 2017 ($62.5 million).
Imports to Kazakhstan from Azerbaijan in January-August 2018 amounted to $33.5 million, which is 75.7 percent more compared to the same period last year ($19.1 million).
Speaking to reporters later, Kanat Bozumbayev said that Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are discussing the possibility of building a plant for the production of liquefied natural gas in western Kazakhstan.
“We are considering the issue of construction of a liquefied gas production plant in Aktau for its further export to and transit through Azerbaijan. These issues are on the agenda,” Bozumbayev said.
In addition, he said, the possibility of creating a joint venture in Kazakhstan in the field of petroleum engineering is being discussed with Azerbaijan.
"Azerbaijan has a developed petroleum engineering industry. We are now discussing the creation of such plants in Kazakhstan with the participation of Azerbaijani capital, and using their experience, skills, and technologies, in order to sell the products to oil companies in the future," the Kazakh minister said.
He stressed that since petroleum engineering products are imported by foreign companies in large quantities for the development of fields, the joint venture may start its activities with the assembly of oil and gas engineering equipment.
Bozumbayev also said the railway administrations of the two countries are discussing the possibility of supplying railcars and locomotives to Azerbaijan on pre-export financing terms.
Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are both Turkic countries and share close historical, religious and cultural ties. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan strive to strengthen partnerships and mutually beneficial relations for the benefit of their peoples and countries, to expand the potential of economic integration and development of the entire Eurasian region.
Countires are interested in intensification of cooperation in many areas, particularly logistics and infrastructure today. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, being the Caspian littoral states, are a natural bridge connecting the West and the East. Thus, the new stage of the cooperation in the field of transport, energy and trade opens another door for Europe to the East.
At the same time, the partnership between two states is not limited to trade issues. The accession of Kazakhstan to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline in 2006 opens up broad prospects for the states to strengthen their positions both at the regional level and in the international arena.