The export acceleration program will help new Kazakh companies enter the Azerbaijani market this year. At the same time, Kazakhstan is interested in establishing uninterrupted exports of industrial and agricultural goods, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Trade and Integration Bakhyt Sultanov said at the 18th meeting of the Kazakh-Azerbaijani Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
“The Ministry of Trade and Integration is actively implementing the Export Acceleration Program, which provides for the training and support of exporters. Azerbaijan has been chosen as the target market this year. 23 companies - manufacturers of the chemical, machine-building, food and light industries are entering the active phase of negotiations with Azerbaijani partners,” Bakhyt Sultanov said.
According to the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, over the past year, mutual trade between the two countries has tripled, amounting to more than $330 million. In the first five months of this year, this trend continues to grow, foreign trade has already increased more than three times, amounting to $161.4 million.
In particular, the export of wheat and rice increased, and the supply of railway locomotives and flat products increased. There are deliveries of new Kazakh goods to Azerbaijan, such as ferrous scrap, rails, mineral fertilizers.
As Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Parviz Shahbazov noted, the Comprehensive Program for the Development of Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan for 2022-2026, which is at the stage of agreement, "is of great importance in the context of deepening bilateral cooperation and will become a roadmap for the development of dialogue between the two countries."
He also invited Kazakh investors to take advantage of the unique investment opportunities and favorable business conditions available in the Alyat Free Economic Zone in Azerbaijan.
Also, the topic of discussion was the change in traditional export routes. As Bakhyt Sultanov noted, the Caspian region plays an important role for Kazakhstan in the formation of commodity flows, providing access to major maritime trade lines through the Trans-Caspian route and the North-South corridor. In this regard, the government of Kazakhstan has begun implementing projects for the construction of a container hub based on the port of Aktau and the laying of a second railway line on the Dostyk-Moiynty section. These measures are designed to increase the transit potential of Kazakhstan and the capacity of TMTR.
“In order to fully unlock the transit potential for cargo flows from China / Central Asian countries to European countries and vice versa, it is important to start timely modernization of technical and tariff conditions in ports, which will serve as a driver for all trade and economic cooperation,” the Minister of Trade of Kazakhstan emphasized.