On President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s state visit to Azerbaijan, Tokayev noted that the interaction between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan is based on trust and friendship and serves as an example of interstate relations. He emphasized that now, in addition to cooperation on natural resources, the struggle for access to transportation and logistics opportunities is intensifying around the world. The two Caspian countries are closely cooperating in this regard. Tokayev, alongside Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, took part in the opening ceremony of a railroad route stretching from the port of Xi’an in China across Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan.
“This is indeed a very important event. We talked about making joint efforts in the field of digitization, creation of artificial intelligence, and the construction of fiber-optic communications along the Caspian Sea bed. These are unique projects,” Tokayev said.
Last June, the governments of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on laying fiber-optic communication cables along the Caspian Sea bed. The lines will be laid by Kazakhstan’s Kazakhtelecom and Azerbaijan’s AzerTelecom.
The project will be one of the main components of the transnational Digital Silk Road project, and will seek to improve the quality of internet connections in the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus. The total length of the cable connecting Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan will be 380 kilometers, and its capacity will reach up to 400 terabits per second. On August 22nd, 2023, the two countries signed a joint venture agreement in Amsterdam that will be responsible for the implementation of this project, including the construction of a fiber-optic communication line.
