Kazakhstan’s trade with OTS members nears $13bn
As part of his working visit to Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov of Kazakhstan took part in the second meeting of Heads of Government/Vice Presidents of the member states of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Baku, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
During the high-level discussions, Prime Minister Bektenov was received by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, as well as held talks with OTS colleagues, outlining priority areas of economic and technical cooperation.
A meeting with the Azerbaijani president focused on the trade-economic cooperation, as well as implementation of joint projects. Bektenov conveyed greetings from Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, stressing that the the country’s Government makes systemic efforts to deepen partnerships in manufacturing, energy, transport, and agriculture.
Speaking at a meeting of the OTS heads of government, the Kazakh prime minister highlighted the pragmatic nature of Turkic integration.
Being among the Organization’s founding nations, Kazakhstan views this process as long-term and economically oriented, he said.
In 2025, Kazakhstan’s mutual trade with the OTS member states reached 12.9 billion US dollars, added Bektenov, stressing the country’s interest in continued expansion of trade-economic and investment ties, tapping into the potential of the Turkic Investment Fund.
As part of the digital agenda, the completion of the ratification of the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) was announced. According to the heads of government, the document is intended to establish a transparent digital environment for business. To remove technical barriers, it was suggested expediting the launch of the Regional Metrology Organization TURKMET. Additionally, Bektenov reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s readiness to host joint production facilities within the economic zone Turan in Turkistan.
Transport and transit cooperation was among the key topics discussed.
To enhance the institutional status of the Middle Corridor, we intend to sign a relevant intergovernmental agreement with Azerbaijan this year, said Prime Minister Bektenov, stressing the importance of aligning the route’s development with the opening of the Zangezur corridor.
To digitalize logistics processes, Bektenov proposed immediately establishing a working group to launch the OTS Digital Monitoring Center.
In the ecology and energy sectors, Kazakhstan has initiated the creation of a Council of Best Practices to enhance energy efficiency and the development of a program for water resources management in Central Asia. Also, within the Year of Digitalization and AI, the initiative was announced to set up a Digital Solutions Center under UNESCAP.
Following the meeting, the heads of delegations adopted the joint statement, which secures support for Azerbaijan's chairmanship in the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), as well as sets out the intent of the parties to develop practical cooperation in economy, transport, and technologies.
Earlier, Qazinform reported heads of OTS space agencies are to convene in Kazakhstan.
