Baku/Astana, Mar 3 (EFE).- Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan signed an agreement in Baku on Monday to build an underwater fiber optic line to connect the two countries via the Caspian Sea, the Kazakh government press office has reported.
“This project is of strategic importance for increasing the quality and reliability of communications, expanding the bandwidth of data transmission between Asia and Europe,” the Kazakh Government said in a press release on Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov’s visit to Azerbaijan.
According to the executive, the agreement was signed by Bektenov and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ali Asadov, during a meeting in which the two heads of government “discussed trade and economic cooperation, interactions in the field of transport and logistics, and the development of cultural and humanitarian relations.”
Bektenov was also received by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the local Azertac news agency reported.
The Kazakh Cabinet of Ministers said trade between the two countries amounted to $533 million last year.
Kazakhstan expressed readiness to increase its exports to Azerbaijan by another $340 million.
“The sides confirmed the intention to make every possible effort to increase bilateral trade,” the Kazakh government added.
During the talks dedicated to cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Astana and Baku, Azerbaijan appreciated Kazakhstan’s contribution to the reconstruction of the Nagorno Karabakh region, which was under Armenian control for nearly 30 years. EFE