Kazakhstan Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov met with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who arrived in Kazakhstan on an official visit. During the talks, the parties discussed the prospects for bilateral cooperation, paying special attention to trade and economic cooperation, development of transport and logistics infrastructure, digital technologies, agriculture and tourism.
Olzhas Bektenov emphasized that President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attaches particular importance to strengthening the partnership with Georgia. Dynamic dialogue between the countries contributes to further growth of trade turnover and expansion of areas of cooperation.
Particular attention was paid to increasing transit and transport cooperation, in particular the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). Its capacity is expected to reach 10 million tons per year by 2027.
«Last year, the volume of traffic on TITR increased by 62% to 4.5 million tones. In order to increase the potential of the route, as well as to eliminate bottlenecks, we are working to improve infrastructure, port and terminal facilities, increase rolling stock, remove administrative barriers and create favorable conditions for carriers. The Government of Kazakhstan is determined to continue multidimensional work to ensure the dynamic development of Kazakhstan-Georgia partnership in all areas,» Olzhas Bektenov emphasised.
In turn, Irakli Kobakhidze confirmed Georgia's interest in expanding cooperation with Kazakhstan.
«This is my first and undoubtedly important official visit to Kazakhstan, aimed at strengthening economic and cultural interaction. Today there are great achievements between our states in various areas of co-operation. We are interested in further developing a comprehensive partnership with Kazakhstan,» Irakli Kobakhidze noted.
The issues of transportation of Kazakh oil and oil products were also discussed. Last year, 1.4 million tons of oil from Kazakhstan were shipped via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, and in the future, it is planned to increase the volume to 2.2 million tons per year.
The meeting participants considered the issue of Kazakh-Georgian investment cooperation, in particular the Batumi assets of KazTransOil JSC - Batumi Oil Terminal LLC and Batumi Sea Port LLC. It was noted that further development of these facilities is key to strengthening the Trans-Caspian international transport route. Batumi Oil Terminal LLC and Batumi Sea Port LLC play an important role and are among the «pillars» of the future development of this route. The issue of mutually beneficial cooperation will lead to an increase in cargo turnover of the aforementioned facilities, which will be mutually beneficial for both parties.
Photo taken from primeminister.kz
