TRACECA predicts significant increase in containerized cargo on Azerbaijani section of Europe-Caucasus-Asia corridor - TRACECA National Secretary

"The Zangezur corridor opens wide opportunities for our country not only to connect with Nakhchivan, but also for new cargo flows from Europe to Central Asia and China and back," Bayramov said.

He also noted that systematic work is underway in Azerbaijan to expand the transport infrastructure.

"Motor roads are being built, and the possibilities of railways and ports involved in international cargo transportation are expanding. Azerbaijan's transport infrastructure is ready for a sharp increase in the flow of goods," Bayramov added.

According to him, negotiations on the unification of tariffs are being conducted both by the TRACECA member countries and within the framework of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia and Kazakhstan).

"Active work is underway to create a working group within the framework of customs structures. In addition to tariffs, harmonization of customs procedures is also an important issue. To this end, May 28 of this year the first meeting of the working group within TRACECA was held, which was attended by experts and representatives of customs authorities. In addition, work is underway to harmonize the tax base and fees. Both the optimization of tariffs and the attraction of additional transit cargo are expected," Bayramov said.

In addition, he noted that Turkmenistan is interested in joining TRACECA.

"Today, the Turkmen side is seriously considering the issues of joining TRACECA. I believe that the entry of Turkmenistan into TRACECA will have a positive impact on the development of the transport corridor, the country itself and Azerbaijan as the most important link between Turkmenistan and Europe. I want to emphasize that the period for any country to join TRACECA, if approved by all member states, is about 2-3 months," Bayramov said.