XII session of Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Commission held in Baku
Co-chairpersons of the Commission – ministers of energy of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan Natik Aliyev and Vladimir Shkolnik, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan Beibit Issabayev and experts took part in the meeting.
The parties discussed a wide spectrum of cooperation issues, namely the activity of the Commission and the course of implementation of its Final Protocol of the 11 th session held in Astana last December.
“Over the period of its functioning, the Azeri-Kazakh Intergovernmental Commission has greatly contributed to the expansion and deepening of bilateral ties in trade-economic, energy, transport, agricultural, cultural, tourist spheres as well as in environmental protection, communications and high-tech sectors,” said Azerbaijan Minister of Energy Natik Aliyev.
According to Aliyev, the trade turnover decline between the two countries is a result of the global negative tendency, economic crisis and energy prices fall. Nevertheless, the countries have a high potential for commodity turnover increase, while new mechanisms for economic cooperation are worked out.
In this regard, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are searching for new mechanisms for raising trade turnover between them, Minister Aliyev added.
In turn, co-Chairman of the Commission from the Kazakh side Vladimir Shkolnik noted that both countries had signed more than 100 official documents, the majority of which relate to oil and gas and energy sectors.
He added that Azerbaijan had been invited to join “Eurasia” project aimed at finding the reserves of hydrocarbons at a depth of about 7-9 kilometers in the area of the Caspian Depression .
Along with this, the Kazakh Minister pointed out that both countries should expand their cooperation in agriculture, transport sector etc.
The session ended with signing a protocol of amendments to the Intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation in protection of industrial property as of 1998. The protocol was signed by Head of the State Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Patent of Azerbaijan Ramiz Gassanov and Kazakhstan Ambassador to this country Beibit Issabayev.
The volume of bilateral commodity turnover in 2014 made 252 mln 100 thousand U.S. dollars. 220 mln U.S. dollars of them fall on export from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan, while the volume of import from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan was at 32 mln 100 thousand U.S. dollars.
In June-September 2015 the volume of commodity turnover between the countries made 76 mln U.S. dollars. Export from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan amounted to 65 mln 800 thousand U.S. dollars, while import from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan made 10 mln 100 thousand U.S. dollars.
The parties agreed also to hold the next, 13 th session of the Commission in Astana in 2016.