BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 12. On January 5, 2026, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev gave extensive interviews to their national media, summarizing the results of the past year and outlining key milestones for the further development of their states. The leaders of the two nations are similar in their assessments of the current moment, their vision of regional processes, and the formation of long-term strategies.
Speaking on the transformation of regional interaction, President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the vast space from the South Caucasus to Central Asia is undergoing a major transformation toward a new model of development.
"Today, the Central Asia-Azerbaijan unity and the transformation of the C5 into C6 carry great importance not only for our region but for the world. Because connectivity, transport, and logistics are of major significance for many leading international actors, and in this regard, the only reliable country geographically capable of linking Central Asia with the West is Azerbaijan,” the head of state added.
The President of Azerbaijan also emphasized that 2025 was marked as a turning point in terms of concluding the long-standing conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the political plane. According to him, the country has entered a qualitatively new reality, which he characterized as a period of peace and creation. The Head of State specifically noted that even in the first months of living under peaceful conditions, practical results have become visible — a positive public mood and the expansion of economic opportunities. These factors, in his assessment, create a sustainable basis for further development and allow Azerbaijan to focus on solving long-term tasks.
A similar logic of reasoning was heard in the interview with the President of Kazakhstan. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spoke of 2025 as a period of significant socio-economic achievements, noting record economic growth figures, an increase in GDP, and a rise in per capita income. At the same time, he emphasized that the results achieved should not become a cause for complacency, pointing to persistent risks, including those related to inflation and the need to strengthen the resilience of the economic model.
The key motif of the Kazakh President's speech was the irreversibility of domestic transformations. He explicitly stated that the main result of the year was the strengthening of public understanding regarding the necessity of large-scale reforms aimed at modernizing the state and the economy. The launch of a new tax code, the beginning of the implementation of the national project to modernize the energy and utilities sector, as well as the continuation of institutional reforms were presented as elements of a unified strategy for which the country has no alternative.
In this context, the approaches of the two leaders demonstrate an obvious similarity. In both Baku and Astana, reforms are viewed not as situational political decisions, but as an objective necessity dictated by changes in the regional and global environment. We are talking about a transition from an adaptive development model to a more stable and structured strategy.
A significant place in both interviews was occupied by the theme of transport and logistical connectivity of the region. Ilham Aliyev identified Azerbaijan as a key geographical link capable of reliably connecting Central Asia with the West under the current geopolitical configuration. He noted the growth of transit shipments through the country’s territory, including the passage of more than 100,000 containers, emphasizing that this figure is only the beginning of more large-scale processes.
Special attention was paid to the development of the Middle Corridor and the prospects for its strengthening through the Zangezur Corridor, which is considered not only as a tool for internal connectivity but also as an international transport route. According to the President of Azerbaijan, cargo from China and Central Asian countries will increasingly use this route, which will increase its significance in the system of Eurasian transportation.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in turn, emphasized the strategic importance of Kazakhstan's transit and logistical potential, noting that connectivity is a key element of the country's economic development. The commissioning of the new "Dostyk–Moyynty" railway line was presented as a step capable of manifoldly increasing the throughput capacity of the route between China and Europe. The President also noted the importance of a comprehensive approach, including the modernization of ports, airports, railway hubs, and the development of a digital ecosystem.
In both cases, transport is not considered in isolation, but as a point of intersection for the interests of various economic sectors, investments, and technologies, reflecting a similar understanding of the role of connectivity in modern development.
Energy issues became another area of convergence in the two leaders' approaches. Ilham Aliyev in his interview explicitly stated the need for a realistic view of the role of fossil fuels in the global economy, emphasizing that ignoring this reality does not correspond to the interests of sustainable development. Simultaneously, he outlined specific plans for the large-scale development of renewable energy sources and the modernization of the country's energy infrastructure.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spoke of similar challenges, focusing on the need to upgrade Kazakhstan's energy and utility systems. He emphasized that without reliable energy generation, it is impossible to move to a new technological model of the economy based on the development of data centers, high-performance computing systems, and automated production facilities. In this context, the construction of nuclear power plants was designated as a rational and long-overdue step for the country — the world leader in uranium mining.
In energy, both leaders demonstrate a pragmatic and sovereign approach, in which the choice of tools — from hydrocarbons to renewable sources and nuclear energy — is determined not by ideological considerations, but by the practical tasks of development and ensuring long-term sustainability.
Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are entering a new stage of development with a close understanding of their tasks and opportunities. For Baku and Astana, the key guidelines are stability, predictability, and long-term planning. The completion of complex historical periods, the implementation of structural reforms, the development of transport corridors, and the strengthening of the energy base are considered not as disparate steps, but as elements of a single strategy. In this sense, the approaches of Ilham Aliyev and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reflect a similar desire to turn achieved stability into sustainable development and to strengthen the role of their countries in the region.