Baku, 15 October. At a meeting in Baku, the presidents of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Ilham Aliyev, confirmed the intention to bring mutual trade to $1 billion. The same day the sides exchanged documents on a project to build two universal dry cargo ships for KTZ Express Shipping, a subsidiary of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy.
The presidents noted the positive dynamics of trade and economic relations and discussed expanding supplies of Kazakh energy resources through Azerbaijan, as well as joint projects in industry, energy, transport, logistics and agriculture. Tokayev thanked Aliyev for the invitation and praised the organisation of the CICA summit.
The ships will be built by the Baku Shipyard, and the construction contracts were signed in April 2026. The document exchange ceremony was attended by Nurlan Zhakupov, chairman of the Samruk-Kazyna board, and Rashad Nabiyev, Azerbaijan's minister of digital development and transport, who also chairs the supervisory board of AZCON Holding.
According to AZCON, each ship will be 140.97 m long and 16.90 m wide, and the ships are to be built within 28 months of the contract being signed. The carrying capacity at sea is about 9,900 tonnes.
The ships will carry cargo along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. KTZ says its own sea fleet will improve the efficiency of managing shipments and increase the route's capacity.
Background
Kazakhstan plans to increase cargo transit to 100 million tonnes by 2035.
