Baku, Tashkent set to expand rail cargo transportation

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have discussed increasing the volume of cargo transported by rail on their respective territories.

The discussion took place in Tashkent during a meeting of the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC and the Uzbekistan Railways JSC leadership.

Discussing the development of bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan Railways, the parties noted the effective measures taken for the development of the international multimodal route “Asia-Pacific-China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey-Europe”.

The parties considered technological cooperation between the two countries' railway infrastructures. They stated their willingness to provide technical assistance in the repair of railway vehicles as well as the development of railway infrastructure.

Moreover, the attendees stressed the importance of continuing to interact with participants in international and multimodal transportation corridors.

"This will increase cargo transportation volume, accelerate container train passage, and organize combined freight traffic," they said.

A working group headed by the heads of the railway departments of the two countries has been established to increase freight traffic and resolve bilateral issues. In addition, the parties agreed to hold the next meeting of the working group in late April in Baku.

It should be noted that the volume of trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan amounted to $111.9 million in 2021. Presently, around 195 Azerbaijani enterprises are represented in Uzbekistan, 69 of which have joint capital and 126 of them have 100 percent Azerbaijani capital.