The Azerbaijani defence minister has ordered that the transition to the Turkish Armed Forces model be expedited

A service meeting was conducted by Azerbaijani Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov.

Minister Hasanov "gave appropriate instructions to further increase the combat readiness of units, improve the knowledge and skills of the command staff, study the capabilities of weapons and equipment adopted for service, as well as conduct exercises at night and daytime in accordance with the actual combat conditions," according to Azerbaijani media reports citing the Ministry's press service.

Zakir Hasanov was given orders by President Ilham Aliyev to speed up the implementation of the Turkish Armed Forces model in the Azerbaijani army, notably in the sphere of military education.

Azerbaijan unveils spending on defence and national security

Azerbaijan has published the amount of budget funds allocated for spending in the field of defence and national security of the republic in 2021.

In 2021, around $2.7 billion from the budget was provided for these purposes.

Thus, 99.2% of the allotted budget for defence and national security was used. This is $463 million, or 20.9%, more than the same period in 2020.

In Azerbaijan in 2022, $4.032 billion were allocated from the state budget for defence and national security, the judiciary, and law enforcement agencies.

New gold deposit discovered 

Anglo-Asian Mining Plc, a British firm that mines gold, silver, and copper in Azerbaijan, has identified a new gold resource.

To the south of the main Gosha gold mine, a new sub-vertical gold vein known as "Hasan" was found.

Surface drilling has uncovered a fresh sub-vertical deposit, which is still being worked on. According to preliminary fieldwork findings, the new vein comprises highly mineralised gold layers.

"The finding of the prospective Hasan vein, which appears to be an interesting addition to the Gosha mine, gives us great hope. While our continuing evaluation work at Vejnali progresses, we are now preparing the vein's mining," Reza Vaziri, the company's CEO, stated.

In addition, an assessment of the existing Vejnali mine and facility in Zangilan is underway. The Vejnali mine and the new gold vein at Gosha are expected to start producing ore in the second half of 2022.

In 2022, current Gedabek operations are expected to produce between 54,000 and 58,000 gold equivalent ounces, which will be complemented by Vejnali and Gosha production.

AzerGold CJSC and Anglo Asian Mining PLC are the firms currently mining gold in Azerbaijan.

Kazakhstan wants to increase freight traffic to Azerbaijan

Kazakhstan is aiming to increase the amount of traffic along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route to Azerbaijan and Georgia.

This was mentioned at a meeting of Kazakhstan's anti-crisis operations headquarters.

Kazakhstan Railway Operator Chairman Nurlan Sauranbayev indicated that commodities in the export direction are carried in the regular fashion, both by rail and through seaports, in response to business worries regarding the transportation of Kazakh cargoes.

"An increase in transportation along the Trans-Caspian international transport route in the direction of Azerbaijan and Georgia [to the ports of Baku, Batumi, and Poti] is being worked out to ensure the ongoing movement of cargo to European nations," the statement stated.

The session focused on logistical challenges relating to freight transportation in Kazakhstan. Minister of Industry and Infrastructural Development Kairbek Uskenbayev offered an update on ongoing talks and agreements with international partners.

"In order to develop transit-logistic potential, agreements with partners on freight direction along the route Aktau/Kuryk-Baku-Tbilisi-Kars are now being worked out. Tariff concerns are being resolved as well” he stated.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor, which was formed in February 2014 with the cooperation of key Azerbaijani, Kazakhstani, and Georgian freight transportation authorities. Ukraine, Romania, and Poland have been discussed recently.

Currently, the route starts in Lianyungang, China, and travels via Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey before reaching Europe through Georgian Black Sea ports or the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway.

In China's Belt and Road Initiative, the Trans-Caspian transport route is an essential integrated commerce corridor. By enhancing regional commerce, investment, and infrastructure, this 6,500-kilometer corridor helps Central Asia and the Caucasus grow and prosper.

 Turkovac vaccine will be tested for first time outside of Turkey in Azerbaijan

Turkfirst international trials of the Turkovac vaccine against Covid-19 will take place in Azerbaijan next week, according to Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

All preparations for the third testing phase have been finished in Azerbaijan, according to Koca.

"We started employing Turkovac in all our hospitals last week," Koca told.

"Today, the number of Turkovac vaccines produced has surpassed one million, and production is rising every day. I believe we can easily hit 1-1.5 million each month in two months," he continued.

The national vaccination is utilised in all 81 provinces of Turkey, according to statistics provided by the Turkish government.

Turkovac's phase one testing began in November 2020, and the second and third phases followed in February and June 2021, respectively. The vaccine was shown to be at least as efficient as Chinese CoronaVac, which has a 100% effectiveness against severe Covid-19, according to phase three tests.

Turkovac is efficient against the Omicron form, according to officials at the Turkish Vaccine Institute.

Since the beginning of mass vaccination in January 2021, more than 13 million doses of vaccinations have been provided in Azerbaijan. The first dosage was given to almost 5.3 million people, while the second dose was given to over 4.8 million people. A booster injection was also provided to about 2.8 million people.

Chinese CoronaVac, German-American Pfizer BioNTech, Russian Sputnik V, and British-Swedish Vaxzevria have all been approved by Azerbaijan's health authorities. The CoronaVac vaccine is the most often used vaccination against Covid-19 in the country.