Astana: Parviz Shahbazov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy, convened with key officials including Nurlan Sauranbayev, Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan, Erlan Akkenzhenov, Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan, and Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), during the Kazakhstan Energy Week in Astana.
According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, the meeting with Nurlan Sauranbayev emphasized the strong ties between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, highlighting a 4.2-fold increase in bilateral trade turnover, which reached 500 million USD in the first half of the year. Discussions included preparations for the 21st meeting of the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan Intergovernmental Commission scheduled for October in Baku. The conversation also covered enhancing transport connectivity via the Middle and Zangazur Corridors, reviewing potential projects to boost freight volumes and explore new cooperation opportunities.
In a separate meeting with Kazakhstan’s Minister of Energy Erlan Akkenzhenov, the focus was on energy cooperation. Discussions included the transportation of 3,383,000 tons of Kazakh oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline since 2023, with aspirations to increase this transit. Collaborative projects between SOCAR and KazMunayGas were also considered. The meeting assessed the Central Asia-Azerbaijan Green Energy Corridor project, with a consulting company for the feasibility study set to be selected in November.
Minister Shahbazov’s meeting with IRENA’s Director-General Francesco La Camera centered on global green energy transition initiatives. The discussions evaluated Azerbaijan’s regional projects within the framework of IRENA’s initiatives, underscoring support for renewable energy development.