BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 15 - Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have officially launched a 380-kilometer fiber-optic cable across the Caspian Sea, opening a new high-capacity digital link between Sumgayit and Aktau.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev conducted the opening ceremony online during their meeting in Baku on Oct. 15, according to APA. The two leaders also reviewed bilateral issues and welcomed the development of the countries’ strategic partnership and allied relations.
The submarine line has planned capacity of up to 400 terabits per second. It is being implemented by Azerbaijan’s AzerTelecom and Kazakhstan’s Kazakhtelecom as a central part of the Digital Silk Way project, the project’s official website said.
The cable is designed to carry large volumes of data on a direct, high-bandwidth route linking Central Asia with the South Caucasus and onward to Europe. Its launch strengthens the telecommunications dimension of the Middle Corridor and is expected to improve the speed, resilience and security of data traffic between Asia and Europe.
At the opening event, Azerbaijan’s Digital Development and Transport Minister Rashad Nabiyev and Kazakhstan’s Transport Minister Nurlan Sauranbayev exchanged a signed agreement on cooperation in developing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor.
Nabiyev, acting as chairman of AZCON’s supervisory board, and Samruk-Kazyna chief executive Nurlan Zhakupov also exchanged a certificate confirming the acquisition of two dry-cargo vessels by the two state holdings, APA reported.
The cable was commissioned after the undersea installation was completed, marking the transition from construction to commercial operation. The project is intended to reinforce Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan’s role as transit hubs for both digital and physical trade routes across the Caspian.
Source: Vesti Baku