Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan deepen Caspian partnership with focus on trade and energy

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Kazakhstan on Monday for talks with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, where the two leaders were expected to discuss expanding economic and energy cooperation along the Trans-Caspian Middle Corridor.

Bilateral trade between the countries reached $547 million in January–August 2025, already surpassing last year’s $470 million. Kazakhstan has shipped 3.4 million tonnes of oil via Azerbaijan’s Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline since 2023, and volumes could rise to 7 million tonnes annually by 2027–28.

The countries are also stepping up industrial cooperation. In May, Azerbaijan’s Dashkasan Iron Ore and Kazakhstan’s Fonte GreenMet signed a $700 million deal to build a plant producing 2 million tonnes of hot-briquetted iron (HBI) annually in Shamkir, western Azerbaijan, by 2029.

Officials said more than 170 agreements now underpin ties, with both sides exploring deeper integration of free economic zones and port terminals into a regional Caspian cluster.

N.Tebrizli