BAKU: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev have made press statements, Trend reports. The President of Azerbaijan made the statement first. Statement by President Ilham Aliyev - Dear Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich! Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen! We are honored to be welcoming our dear guest, the President of Kazakhstan, on a state visit. You are welcome, Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich! Today we have had extensive discussions on what has already been done to strengthen our cooperation, and also discussed in detail our future plans. We attach great importance to the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan, our brotherly country, our strategic partner and ally. The dynamics of our relations can be very easily traced in the chronology of our reciprocal visits. Over the past year and a half, I have visited Kazakhstan four times, and during the same period of time, the President of Kazakhstan is visiting our country for the third tim e. Today we have also agreed as part of the exchange of views on future visits before the end of this year. So the very fact of such dynamic interaction speaks for itself. We not only discuss important issues of bilateral cooperation, but also touch upon regional issues, issues related to the security system in our region. First of all, I would like to once again express my gratitude to Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich for his initiative to build the Kurmangazy Children's Creativity Center in Fuzuli, which has been liberated from occupation. This is the decision of the President personally, and although very little time has passed since this decision was made, we will open this center together tomorrow. Along with the fact that children of former IDPs will study there, it will also be the center of our friendship and brotherhood. This is Kazakhstan's brotherly help to Azerbaijan, it is a gift of Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan and its support for the restoration of liberated territories. We are also grateful to Kazakhstan for its continued support of Azerbaijan in restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Today we discussed in detail the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. I informed my colleague about the current stage of the negotiations and prospects for reaching a peace agreement. Azerbaijan is interested in this, and, in fact, it was Azerbaijan that initiated the start of the process of negotiations on a peace agreement. Along with this, we also discussed other issues of interaction, including our joint activities in international bodies, first of all, the UN and the Organization of Turkic States. We are aligned in the view that it is necessary to further strengthen interaction within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States, as it is an organization that unites close, friendly and brotherly countries and has a very great potential - most importantly, the potential for growth. As for the bilateral agenda, various aspects of our interaction have been discussed in detail within the framework of the first meeting of the High-Level Intergovernmental Council. The sphere of trade and economic interaction has tremendous potential for growth. Matters related to the transit and transport sector were discussed in detail, and we took part in the symbolic welcoming of the container train, which made its way from the People's Republic of China through Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan. This is a symbol of the fact that the Trans-Caspian transport corridor is already a reality, which itself will largely determine the level of regional cooperation, because it is impossible to become a transit country without good relations with your neighbors. In this case, both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have demonstrated their commitment to regional cooperation and strengthening of relations with neighbors. Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich and I exchanged views today that we are also neighbors. Only the Caspian Sea separates us. But it is not a barrier today. On the contrary, the Caspian Sea is a bridge not only between our co untries, but also between many other states, because the Trans-Caspian transport route is now unlocking its full potential. We also listened to detailed reports of members of the government in many directions. The results of interaction, joint activities and, most importantly, our future plans are really impressive. The situation related to cooperation in the oil and gas sector was also analyzed in detail and new specific projects were outlined. We discussed preparations for the COP29 climate conference, and we offered our Kazakh brothers cooperation in preparing and holding of this most important international conference. We also discussed issues related to humanitarian cooperation. Each direction is a huge layer. When we listened to reports from members of the government, we were convinced how much has already been done - Days of Culture, various events and honoring outstanding representatives of our peoples. The implementation of transport and energy cooperation projects and prospects for cooperation in the field of 'green' energy. We are following a parallel course. And today, within the framework of discussions, we stated that the current geopolitical situation, which I would say essentially put the Trans-Caspian transport route on the forefront of the global transportation and logistics spectrum, has a solid foundation. Because both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan made major investments in this sphere in previous years. Despite the fact that we have ample natural resources, we have strived and achieved the fact that our transportation infrastructure today fully complies with international standards. Both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have implemented large-scale transportation projects, be it railroads, airports, highways or sea ports. All this is in demand as never before. Once again, this convinces us all that everything must be done in time and look beyond the foreseeable prospect, which is visible to the naked eye. And only then can we succeed. Therefore, if we started investing in transportation infrastructure today, it would probably take us 10 years to build up the potential we have today. But today, on this foundation, we are planning to expand our transport and transit capabilities, be it ports or railroads, and create synergies and a unified transport complex, which will also be underpinned by projects related to digitalization. Here, too, we are following a parallel course. Both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan pay a lot of attention to this sphere. I congratulated my colleague on Kazakhstan's impressive achievements in socioeconomic development, sustainable growth of the economy, and the continuous growth of Kazakhstan's authority in international affairs. This is very important for us. It makes us feel proud of our brotherly people, because Kazakhstan is a country that deservedly enjoys a very high reputation in the international arena a result of its wise policy, correct strategy and clear and prudent steps aimed at the development of the state, as well as interaction in the international arena. We are sincerely happy about this. Every time you visit Kazakhstan, you see transformation. I have told Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich that the creation of a modern and beautiful metropolis of Astana is a rare example in world history. And every time I go there - as I said, I have been there four times in a year and a half - I see development. All this reflects the reforms that President Tokayev is implementing for the benefit of his people, his state and to the delight of his friends. We are sincerely striving to fill our relations with even more content. A state visit is the highest level of demonstration of relations. And we tried to fill it with serious content in preparation for the visit. An intergovernmental commission meeting was held the day before in Astana, documents were prepared - only a part of the documents were signed in the presence of the delegation, others are being signed in the working order. The agenda is actually very extensive, and most importantly, it is aimed at a concrete result. I would like to express my gratitude to the President of Kazakhstan again for accepting my invitation and visiting Azerbaijan. As I have already said, we have agreed on new meetings in the near future and before the end of the year in order to constantly maintain this dialog and give a further impetus to all members of the team so that everything we have decided and signed will be implemented. Source: Trend News Agency