Azerbaijani President receives Kazakhstan’s PM

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov.

Noting the strategic nature of relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, the head of state hailed the successful development of bilateral ties in all areas. The President of Azerbaijan underlined that the agenda of bilateral relations is broad.

Saying that the successful implementation of the agreements reached during President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev`s visit to Azerbaijan last year, and his trip to Kazakhstan this year was constantly taken into account, President Ilham Aliyev described it as a sign of the high level of bilateral cooperation. The head of state pointed out that relations between the two countries are of great importance for regional cooperation, including cooperation in the Caspian basin and in a wider area. The President of Azerbaijan said that there is great potential for the further expansion of this cooperation, stressing that all this serves to increase the volume of trade turnover, create additional business opportunities, implement large-scale projects in energy, transport and other areas.

President Ilham Aliyev expressed confidence that Alikhan Smailov`s visit would contribute to the further development of friendly and brotherly relations between the two countries.

Expressing gratitude for the warm words, the Prime Minister conveyed the greetings and best wishes of President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the head of state.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked for the greetings, and asked Alikhan Smailov to pass on his greetings to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Alikhan Smailov congratulated the head of state and the friendly people of Azerbaijan on the upcoming Eid al-Adha.

Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov underlined that this year marks the 100th anniversary of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, saying the Great Leader had always cherished sincere friendly relations with Kazakhstan. Alikhan Smailov noted that opening of the Heydar Aliyev Street this year in Astana with participation of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan is manifestation of unity of both countries and peoples.

The head of state expressed gratitude for the respect to the memory of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, adding the people of Azerbaijan appreciate this.

Alikhan Smailov pointed out that Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan relations are strategic by their nature and expressed satisfaction with successful development of cooperation in all spheres. The Prime Minister noted that interaction between the countries based strategic partnership is an indicator of bilateral relations. Alikhan Smailov expressed gratitude to the Azerbaijani President for his contribution to cementing bilateral cooperation in a variety of fields. He noted that Azerbaijan is the most important economic and trade partner for Kazakhstan in the South Caucasus, saying the trade turnover climbed by 40% to exceed USD 460 mln last year. The Prime Minister said the trend was kept this year too, and underlined that there are opportunities for increasing this potential even more.

They hailed the construction of the Children’s Center for the Development of Creativity in the city of Fuzuli, noted the activity of the intergovernmental commission, and shared their opinions on the cooperation between the countries in oil, transportation, ICT, ship-building, humanitarian and other spheres.

The sides expressed satisfaction with the recent rise of cargo transportation from the Caspian Sea through the Middle Corridor by Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan as well as third parties, and underlined the importance of stepping up the two countries’ joint efforts in this directions.

The meeting also saw discussions on the prospects for participation of Kazakhstan’s companies in various projects in the liberated lands of Azerbaijan.