On August 19th, meeting of the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan Expert Council was held in Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan.
Members of the Expert Council spoke at the event organized in a hybrid format by the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center). While making an introductory speech, Farid Shafiyev, Chairman of the AIR Center, and Erkin Tukumov, Director of KazISS, touched upon the current issues in Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan relations. E. Tukumov noted that relations between the experts of the two countries have become systematic and productive recently. F. Shafiyev also confirmed that a solid platform has been created between the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan expert communities and stated that it is of special significance that this meeting took place before the visit of President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Referring to the importance of interparliamentary relations, Aidos Sarim, a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Republic of Kazakhstan, said that during the 44-days war, the public of Kazakhstan clearly expressed its support to Azerbaijan. Deputies of the Milli Majlis of Republic of Azerbaijan, Elshad Mirbashir oglu and Rasim Musabeyov, noted that the high level of political and security relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan stems from the shared history, ethnic, cultural and religious identity between the two nations.
Amangeldi Tajenov, Chairman of the Management Board of the Institute of Foreign Policy Research of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Kazakhstan, emphasized that geopolitical events in the region and the world have recently developed in a negative direction, and therefore, it is necessary for Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan to mutually coordinate their foreign policy activities, especially in international organizations.
ADA University’s Vice-rector Fariz Ismayilzade talked about the existing educational and cultural relations between the two countries. Rahim Oshakbayev, director of the TALAP Center for Applied Research, noted that the new geopolitical reality shows the need to intensify the exchange of ideas between think-tanks. He also added that organizations such as the CIS and the Eurasian Union are in a state of inertia, therefore, new integration models in Turkey-South Caucasus-Central Asia format should be taken into consideration. Director of the South Caucasus Research Center, Farhad Mammadov, said that the geopolitical changes taking place in the region's neighborhood created a number of internal and external security challenges for Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, as well as a historic opportunity for the development of economic and trade relations between the two countries and the importance of synchronizing the activities of state structures in that field.
Gaidar Abdikerimov, Secretary General of the International Association «Trans-Caspian International Transport Route», announced that the demand for the Middle Corridor has recently increased. Nagi Ahmadov, the AIR Center’s leading advisor, stated that in addition to the increase in transit freight through the Middle Corridor, there has been an increase in the volume of trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries located on this corridor, especially with Kazakhstan, the trade has increased more than six times compared to last year and reached its’ historical peak. Lidiya Parkhomchik, chief expert of the Institute of World Economy and Politics, noted that she expects the solution of a number of technical and bureaucratic problems along with the development of trade and economic relations among the countries of the Caspian region.
It should be noted that "Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan Expert Council" was signed in May of this year in Baku.
