By Alimat Aliyeva

The Ministries of Transport of Kazakhstan and Latvia today signed a Memorandum on the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TMTM, Middle Corridor), Azernews reports.

"Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan Marat Karabayev met with his Latvian counterpart Kaspars Briskens. During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on the current state and prospects for the development of the transport sector in Kazakhstan and Latvia, and a Memorandum on the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route was also signed," the ministry said.

Karabayev noted that Kazakhstan and Latvia are actively developing transit and transport cooperation. One of the significant aspects of cooperation is the permanent joint working group on transport. "This group covers a wide range of issues in the field of rail, road, air transport, transit and logistics," the head of the ministry noted.
According to the Kazakh Minister, today the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route has acquired a special role as an alternative to other routes. This is evidenced by a twofold increase in cargo transportation volumes by the end of 2023.

"In order to increase the capacity of TMTM, as well as eliminate bottlenecks on the route, work is being carried out to improve infrastructure and terminal facilities, expand port facilities, increase rolling stock, remove administrative barriers and create favorable conditions for carriers, which will increase the capacity of TMTM to 10 million tons per year by 2025," – Karabaev shared.

He also invited Latvian investors to jointly implement infrastructure projects.

"We are ready to strengthen cooperation in the field of transport and logistics to mutually increase the volume of transit cargo flows, establish and develop transport routes, share best practices in the field of multimodal transportation and logistics processes," he stressed.

According to the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan, today Latvia, along with Austria, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia and Hungary, have expressed interest in joining TMTM. Within the framework of the International TMTM Association, a Roadmap has been signed for the simultaneous elimination of bottlenecks and the development of the Middle Corridor until 2027 with Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkiye. During the official visit on January 31 of this year, a similar Memorandum on the development of TMTM was signed with Romania.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route is an international transport corridor running through China, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and further to Turkiye and European countries.