On March 9, 2022, a meeting of the Kazakh delegation headed by Almassadam Satkaliyev, the CEO of Samruk-Kazyna JSC with a number of responsible persons of the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan took place in Baku.  

The main topic of discussion was the project of creating a joint venture to develop the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. The new joint venture will solve the issues of end-to-end tariff setting and cargo declaration, apply unified IT solutions and consolidate transit cargo on this route. 

During the conversation with the Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Mikail Jabbarov, the Chief Executive Officer of the Azerbaijani Investment Holding Ruslan Alikhanov, the Acting President - First Vice President of SOCAR Rovshan Najaf and other officials, representatives of the Kazakh delegation noted the urgency of reorientation of export cargo flows from Kazakhstan to Europe via the trans-Caspian route.   

The parties outlined a significant potential for cooperation in the field of oil transportation through Azerbaijan, which can become an alternative to existing routes.   

The Kazakh delegation also met with Rashad Nabiyev, the Minister of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan.  

During the meeting, discussions were held on the unification of transport tariffs along the corridor, synchronization of customs procedures to increase the volume of cargo transportation along international transport corridors passing through the countries.  

It was noted that the events taking place in the region and the geopolitical situation have created a new reality. There is already a risk that demand will exceed supply, and these factors will eventually affect the end user. Thus, both the cost of delivery and the waiting period will increase. This reality dictates the consideration of new cooperation frameworks and establishment of transit transport links.  

It was stressed at the meeting that the geographical features of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan - their location between the largest economic centers of Europe and Asia - created real prerequisites for ensuring an efficient and well-established transport network between the countries. An additional impetus for the development of the route was the completion of the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line. This made it possible to reduce the delivery time from China to Turkey via Kazakhstan to 12 days. 

Following the meeting, a protocol was signed on the establishment of a joint venture and implementation of transport and logistics activities between Samruk-Kazyna JSC and the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan.