Kazakh Ambassador: Armenia may well take advantage of the Caspian  basin

ArmInfo. Armenia may well take advantage of the Caspian basin.  On May 13 in Yerevan at the conference "The Caspian Sea - a Sea of Opportunities", initiated by  the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Armenia and dedicated to the First  Caspian Economic Forum, which will be held on August 12 in "Avaza"  National tourist zone, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia Timur  Urazayev stated.

The diplomat during his speech stressed the commitment of Kazakhstan  to the development of economic projects in the Caspian Sea region.  "For Kazakhstan, as well as for Turkmenistan, it is very important  from an economic point of view. It is a region with transport,  logistics and natural potential. The Caspian region has very powerful  resources for the development of the Eurasian region as a whole, and  if you take into account the proximity of the Persian Gulf, in  general, the region contains about 70% of world oil reserves and 40%  of gas. With this in mind, all transport projects that are planned to  be implemented or are already being implemented through the territory  of the Caspian region have great prospects. In particular, these are  the North-South and West-East corridors, including TRACECA and other  corridors, to which both Kazakhstan and other Caspian countries are  paying serious attention, "the diplomat emphasized.

According to him, it is not accidental that this forum is being held  on August 12, on the anniversary of the signing of the already  historic document - the Treaty on the Legal Status of the Caspian  Sea, which dotted all about using the resources of the Caspian Sea  and using coastal riches as well as and other pressing issues,  including the burning issue of the use of military forces in the  Caspian waters basin.

"Therefore, the upcoming forum will be a great contribution to the  development of the economic sector of the Caspian states. I am sure  that the neighboring countries of the region, including Armenia, may  well take advantage of the Caspian basin, because the connection  between large Asian markets and large European markets, since it  belongs to the region of the Caspian basin ",  Urazayev concluded.

To note, on August 12, 2019, the first Caspian Economic Forum will be  held in the Avaza National Tourist Zone of Turkmenbashi, in which  members of governments, heads of ministries and departments from all  Caspian states and the entire region are expected to attend. The  purpose of the Forum is to create conditions for large projects, a  discussion about the role of the economy of the Caspian region in a  global context, investment attractiveness in the fields of industry,  energy, agriculture, trade, tourism and other industries of the  Caspian littoral states of mutual interest. The first such forum in  history within the largest region of the world, which is the Caspian  basin, was initiated by President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly  Berdimuhamedow  the IV Summit of the Heads of the Caspian littoral  states, held on September 30, 2014 in Astrakhan (Russian Federation). 

This initiative is based on the fundamental vision of Turkmenistan of  the strategic importance of the Caspian Sea in regional and  interregional geopolitical and geo-economic processes, and its role  as an important transit-transport and logistics hub, necessitating  further joint efforts of the Caspian states. The development of  fruitful cooperation with the countries of the Caspian region has  been and remains a principled position, and in this regard it is  among the priority vectors of the foreign policy of Turkmenistan.   The agenda of the First Caspian Economic Forum will cover a wide  range of issues that will later form the basis of promising areas of  interaction between the participating states. It is assumed that such  topical issues regarding the intensification of trade and economic  relations, including the creation of conditions for the development  and implementation of large-scale projects, will be proposed for  consideration for the exchange of views and constructive discussion.  

On the margins of the Forum, it is also planned to hold the  International Exhibition of Innovative Technologies of the Caspian  States on August 11-12, 2019, which is intended to become a center  for establishing business contacts and getting acquainted with new  technologies, services and solutions in various areas of the economy,  including the fuel and energy sector, transport and logistics ,  industry, commerce, tourism and many other areas.