Modern geopolitical realities increase strategic Middle Corridor importance, Deputy Minister

The modern geopolitical realities increase the strategic importance of the Middle Corridor (Trans-Caspian International Transport Route) in transportation between Asia and Europe.

This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan, Samir Mammadov, at the 8th meeting of the Azerbaijan-Romania Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic Relations, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation held today in Baku, Azernews reports.

"One of the main advantages of the Middle Corridor is that the states along this corridor have friendly relations, and close cooperation is established among them. We, together with partner countries, are making efforts to expand the corridor and also working on identifying 'bottlenecks' for the solution of these problems," he emphasised.

The deputy minister recalled that two years ago, the Roadmap for the Elimination of "bottlenecks" and the Development of this corridor for the years 2022-2027 was signed in the territories of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.

It should be noted that in 2023, the volume of transportation along this Trans-Caspian International Transport Route increased by 86% to reach 2.8 million tons. In 2022, this indicator was 1.5 million tons, and in 2021, it was 586 thousand tons.

The Middle Corridor project connects China, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and Europe. This project has been implemented since 2013, and through this route, the delivery time of Chinese goods to Europe is reduced by three times.