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Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan sign a set of accords

03 October 2009 08:17 (UTC +04:00)

Nakhchivan-APA. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev have met on-on-one on the sidelines of the summit of Turkic Speaking Countries in Nakhchivan on October 2.

The presidents praised the level of the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan relations, and stressed the importance of high-level reciprocal visits.
The two leaders also said the current visit would contribute to expanding the bilateral relations.

The Heads of State also exchanged views on regional and international issues.

Then, the presidents met in presence of their delegations.
The Azerbaijani leader said the current visit of the Kazakh President will make great contribution to further develop bilateral ties.
President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have historical relations. According to the President, bilateral relations are successfully developing. The Head of State praised cooperation of the two nations in international arena.

The Azerbaijani President expressed hope the decisions to be made and documents to be signed during the visit of his Kazakh counterpart will be of great importance to further deepening of relations, strengthening of regional cooperation and successful realization of future projects.
President of Kazakhstan praised the current level of bilateral relations. The Head of State said reciprocal visits by Presidents play a â€œkeyâ€ role in this regard.

â€œWe did not have any misunderstanding, unsolved question, and political problemâ€, the Kazakh President added.

Praising reconstruction and renovation works in the capital of Azerbaijan, Nazarbayev said Baku is a â€œmodern and beautiful city.â€

Then, the document signing ceremony was held with participation of Presidents of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

The document included â€œJoint Declaration on establishment of sister city relationships between SumqayÄ±t (Azerbaijan) and Aktau (Kazakhstan)â€, â€œMemorandum on joint use of oil and gas infrastructure facilities of State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic in developing hydrocarbon deposits of Kazakhstanâ€, â€œAgreement on joint activities for preparation of economic feasibility on Trans-Caspian projectâ€, â€œMemorandum of Intent between KazMunaiGaz National Company of Kazakhstan and State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) on cooperation on Baku-Black Sea oil pipelineâ€, â€œAgreement between Azerbaijanâ€™s Agriculture Ministry and Kazakhstanâ€™s Agriculture Ministry on cooperation in the field of agricultureâ€, â€œAgreement between Azerbaijani Government and Kazak Government on cooperation in the field of veterinaryâ€, â€œAgreement between Azerbaijani Government and Kazakh Government on paying off debts accumulated as a result of trade-economic relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in 1992-1993â€, and â€œAgreement between Azerbaijani Government and Kazakhstanâ€™s Government on visa-free travelâ€.

Following the signing ceremony President Ilham Aliyev and President Nursultan Nazarbayev made statements for the press. President Ilham Aliyev welcomed the Kazakh leader in Azeri and emphasized large spectrum of relations between the two countries. â€œOur relationship is developing and covering many spheres. The political relations are in a high level. Despite the economic crisis and fall of trade turnover, the economic relations are dynamically developing and I believe that this temporary fall will be lifted soon because of projects described in the documents we signed today, first of all energy projects and I believe that the trade turnover between our countries will rise in the near futureâ€.

The head of state said both countries are energy allies. â€œThere are good potential opportunities for the development of relations in this field. The documents we signed here today are the start of great way. The Kazakhstanâ€™s oil is transported to the world markets via the territory of Azerbaijan â€“ by railways and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. New pipelines and other transport opportunities of Azerbaijan will promote the integration between our countries. There are good prospects in the transport sphere. I believe that our Kazakh friends will get an opportunity to use the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, when its construction will be completed. It will connect Europe and Asia.â€

The head of state thanked the Kazakh president for his efforts for the strengthening of bilateral relations, as well as creation of good environment for the cooperation in the Caspian and Caucasian regions and strengthening of security and mutual trust.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev thanked President Ilham Aliyev for the invitation to Azerbaijan.

The ministers and heads of leading companies of Kazakhstan held useful negotiations. The intergovernmental commission held a meeting and achieved success on all agenda issues and signed documents. We reached an agreement for strengthening of energy cooperation. We signed the documents on using of Azerbaijanâ€™s oil and gas infrastructure, transport communications between the countries, oil refinery cooperation and personnel training, researches, future production and transportation. This is main part of our cooperation. We reached agricultural agreements as well. We are interested in the military-political cooperation, training of navy personnel in the Azerbaijani schools and cultural-humanitarian relations as well. More than 100 000 Azerbaijanis are the citizens of Kazakhstan and living and working in our country. They are satisfied with their lives. This is a bridge between our countriesâ€.

The president of Kazakhstan said both countries demonstrated same position on the world policy issues. â€œWe support strengthening of UN institutions and observing the international laws. We are working together for prevention of terrorism and other forms of extremism. We are always talking about the inviolability of borders and sovereignty of the countries. We are not only the partners. We are allies in all spheres. I believe there are great prospects for our relations. The trade turnover between our countries reached USD 670 million despite the crisis. It is not the last level. We have an opportunity to correct this situation. I believe our agreements will make our cooperation to reach higher levelsâ€.