Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, Georgia sign roadmap for development of Middle Corridor for 2022-2027

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Türkiye and Georgia have signed the roadmap for the development of the Middle Corridor for 2022-2027.

The Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Georgian and Turkish foreign ministries and transport ministers considered a number of issues on the development of several measures for the accelerated development of international transport routes through the modernisation of their operating conditions and developed practical steps to strengthen cooperation in the region covered by the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, Caliber.Az reported on November 25, citing the Kazakh Foreign Ministry.

The participants noted the unity of approaches to the main directions for the development of transport potential and confirmed their mutual interest in intensifying direct contacts at the governmental level.

During the event, all sides signed the roadmap for the simultaneous removal of bottlenecks and the development of the "Middle Corridor" for 2022-2027, which envisages the agreed principles of work, as well as specific projects with precise parameters, implementation deadlines and responsible executors. It will be possible to increase the throughput capacity along the corridor by up to 10 million tons per year by 2025 after the implementation of the agreements.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), known as the Middle Corridor, is a rail freight and ferry system linking China with Europe. It starts from Southeast Asia and China, and runs through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey before reaching southern or Central Europe, depending on the cargo destination.

Geographically, this is the shortest route between Western China and Europe. The block train running along this corridor delivers cargo from China to Europe in an average of 20-25 days.

On March 31, 2022, the governments of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey signed a declaration on improving the transportation potential through the region.