As part of his working visit to the city of Baku (Azerbaijan), Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov took part in a collective meeting between the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the heads of delegations of the member states of the Organization of Turkic States, as well as in the meeting of heads of government/vice-president of the OTS states,El.kz reports citing primeminister.kz.
During the meeting with the President of Azerbaijan, attention was paid to issues of trade and economic cooperation and the implementation of joint projects.
Olzhas Bektenov conveyed warm words of greeting and best wishes from the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev. It was noted that thanks to the balanced and consistent policy of the heads of the two states, bilateral cooperation is being strengthened. In this direction, the Government of Kazakhstan is making every effort to further deepen partnership in such areas as industry, transport and transit, agriculture, energy, digitalization and AI.
The second meeting of heads of government/vice-president of the Organization of Turkic States was attended by Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers – Head of the Administration of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Adylbek Kasymaliev, Vice President of the Republic of Türkiye Cevdet Yılmaz, Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov, Secretary General of the OTS Kubanychbek Omuraliev, as well as observers.
The meeting reviewed the progress of implementation of the instructions of the heads of OTS states. Interaction in the context of regional and global challenges was discussed, as well as prospects for expanding trade, economic and investment ties, developing transport infrastructure and digital integration of the Middle Corridor, and strengthening energy security.
In his speech, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov emphasized the growing role of the OTS in strengthening economic cooperation and coordinating joint efforts.
“As President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted, today the world community perceives the Organization of Turkic States as an authoritative, cohesive association capable of confronting serious challenges. Being one of the founding countries of the Organization, from the very beginning we have viewed Turkic integration as a long-term, pragmatic and economically oriented process. In 2025, the volume of Kazakhstan’s mutual trade with the member states of the Organization reached $12.9 billion. We are interested in further deepening trade, economic and investment ties, using the full potential of our association,” Olzhas Bektenov noted.
The need to strengthen the Union of Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry and its closer coordination with the Turkic Investment Fund was noted. This will contribute to more effective interaction among the economic institutions of the OTS.
In order to increase the volume of mutual trade and form a digital environment for business, Kazakhstan intends to complete the ratification of the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), signed at the 11th OTS Summit in Bishkek, in the near future. To further deepen interaction, it was proposed to accelerate the completion of work on the establishment and full launch of the Regional Metrology Organization of Turkic States – TURKMET.
Currently, a special economic zone “Turan” has been established in Turkestan to support business. Kazakhstan confirmed its readiness to place new joint productions and develop technological clusters in this zone, including with the participation of partners from OTS member states.
Attention was paid to the issue of transport and transit cooperation. To strengthen the status of the Middle Corridor, the signing of an intergovernmental agreement between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan is planned for this year. Olzhas Bektenov noted the need for further development of the TITR taking into account the opening of the Zangezur Corridor. An additional impetus to the development of the Middle Corridor could be provided by the Digital Monitoring Center of the OTS initiated by President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. In this regard, it was proposed to promptly form a special working group.
Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov emphasized the need to strengthen cross-border energy infrastructure and promote advanced environmental solutions. Currently, the Government of Kazakhstan, on the instruction of the President of the country, is completing the preparation of concepts for the establishment of the Council of Best Practices on Energy Efficiency to launch a joint program for the efficient use of water resources in Central Asia.
In addition, within the framework of the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence declared by President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kazakhstan is putting forward an initiative to create a Center for Digital Solutions within the framework of ESCAP UN.
Following the meeting, the participants adopted a Joint Statement. The document confirmed support for Azerbaijan’s chairmanship in the OTS and the efforts being made to develop practical cooperation in priority areas.