Almaty, Feb 7 : Kazakhstan and Georgia are focusing on boosting cargo volumes along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, or the Middle Corridor, while upgrading its transit infrastructure, according to a statement issued by the Kazakh Presidential press service.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze discussed prospects for bilateral cooperation, international agenda issues, and regional security in Astana on Thursday.

"Kazakhstan and Georgia cooperate effectively at various levels, including collaboration between parliaments, governments, and state agencies," Tokayev noted, as quoted in the statement.

Tokayev highlighted Georgia's remarkable progress in recent years, underscoring the substantial results of ongoing reforms and an impressive 9.4 per cent economic growth rate.

Tokayev also praised the comprehensive development of bilateral relations, calling Georgia a reliable partner of Kazakhstan in the Caucasus region.

"Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Irakli Kobakhidze paid special attention to increasing the volume of cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian international transport route and modernising the infrastructure of the transit corridor. The meeting discussed the prospects for expanding bilateral ties in many areas, including trade, energy, investment, tourism, artificial intelligence, and digitalization. They also discussed current issues on the international agenda and regional security," the statement detailed.

For his part, Kobakhidze said that Kazakhstan is one of the first countries he visited after taking office and stated that Georgia remains firmly committed to the fruitful development of multifaceted relations with Kazakhstan, Xinhua news agency reported.

"It is very important for us to increase political and economic cooperation. We are ready to actively defend the interests of Kazakhstan in various formats, including multilateral platforms," said Kobakhidze.

The Georgian Prime Minister also invited Tokayev to visit Georgia.

The two leaders also discussed prospects for deepening bilateral cooperation across a wide range of areas, including trade, energy, investment, tourism, artificial intelligence, and digitalization, as well as current issues on the international agenda and regional security, the statement said.

/IANS