“Azerbaijan has a great future as a transport and transit hub” Caliber.Az interview with Russian political analyst

Russian political analyst, Vladislav Kondratyev, said Azerbaijan’s exports to Russia today have the most favourable prospects for development.

 “The conditions for the operation of transport corridors passing through the Russian territory have greatly changed in terms of the sanctions imposed by the Western countries against Russia,” Kondratyev told Caliber.Az.

He noted that in this regard, shippers and goods recipients of Eurasia are looking for new sustainable options for the supply of goods.

“Taking into account that the Caspian littoral countries, including Azerbaijan, have been actively developing transit and transport infrastructure recently, it is not surprising that logistics companies have focused on the Caspian Sea, intending to redirect some cargo bypassing Russia,” he said, adding that the proven logistics of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) enable its participants to look to the future with optimism.

“For example, the statement was made at the general meeting of the "Trans-Caspian International Transport Route" international association on May 9-10, 2022 that container traffic via the route is expected to double this year up to 50,000 twenty-foot equivalent containers (TEU) compared to last year,” Kondratyev said.

“According to the forecasts, the transportation volume will grow six times up to 3.2 million tons this year. However, the prospects for the development of transport corridors along the Caspian Sea are determined not only by routes running in the direction of the East-West trade route. Presently, Russia pins big hopes on the intensification of the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which also passes through Azerbaijan.

Moreover, the Russian carriers expect to use the territories of Azerbaijan and Iran not only for the supply of goods to India - the final destination of the INSTC - but also to the Middle Eastern countries,” the analyst explained.

“Thus, today Azerbaijan is in a very advantageous position and has every opportunity to further strengthen its position as an important transport and transit hub in the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus. Today Azerbaijan has all opportunities to greatly improve its status as a transport and transit hub for the supply of goods to and from Russia within the INSTC.

I would also like to draw attention to the results of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk’s visit to Baku in April 2022. The Russian official arrived to participate in the anniversary meeting of the Russia-Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Commission. During this important bilateral event, the sides expressed satisfaction with the successful development of the Azerbaijan-Russia friendly relations in various spheres.

The sides emphasized that there is a very broad contractual and legal framework between the two countries, and the Declaration on Allied Interaction signed by the Azerbaijani, and Russian presidents in February 2022 brought interstate relations to a qualitatively new level,” Kondratyev

The Russian analyst explains that in the Declaration on Allied Interaction the sides focus on the progressive development of the potential of transit and transport cooperation by using the technologies of intelligent transport systems, on ensuring the technical and economic conditions for the sustainable full-scale operation of the INSTC.

“The sides also confirmed their intention to support each other's efforts in resolving issues of ensuring the security and uninterrupted operation of international transport corridors passing through their territories [Azerbaijan and Russia], and to provide each other with favourable conditions for transit traffic within the national legislation and bilateral agreements,” Kondratyev said.

He noted that the results of cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan in transport and logistics are quite positive today. The statement was made at the abovementioned meeting of the Russia-Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Commission confirmed the trade turnover of the two countries increased by 6.6 per cent, while the transit traffic volume grew by 14.3 per cent last year.

 “Both Moscow and Baku are confident today that the INSTC’s activity will play a positive role in the development of not only the countries involved in the project but also in other countries carrying out export-import operations along this route, as well as in expanding trade and economic ties. Any crisis opens up broad opportunities, and the current situation is not an exception, especially for Azerbaijan.

First, favourable prospects are appearing in the agricultural sector. The positive dynamics of cooperation in agriculture were emphasized during the meeting of the Russia-Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Commission in April 2022. The export of fruits and vegetables from Azerbaijan to Russia increased by 6.3 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020, and a 7 per cent increase was observed in the first quarter of 2022,” Kondratyev said.

He further noted that a solemn ceremony of sending the first freight train was held at Lejet station as part of the launching of the Agroexpress project implementation in Azerbaijan in February 2022.

Kondratyev added that the Agroexpress project in Azerbaijan is being implemented by Alliance Logistics and Russian Railways Logistics (RZD Logistics) companies through the support of the Azerbaijan-Russian Business Council, Russian Export Center, Azerbaijan Railways, Russian Railways, etc. 

“Agroexpress is a specialized service for the supply of goods by using fast-moving trains, which allows reducing delivery period and reduce transportation costs thanks to an efficient export-import logistics. Fruits and vegetables, namely Azerbaijani persimmons, which are in great demand on the Russian market, were first supplied from Azerbaijan to Russia via Agroexpress. Thus, Azerbaijan's exports to Russia today have the most favourable development prospects,” Kondratyev concluded.