Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia integrate railways into digital trade corridor

Kazakhstan's Deputy Minister of Transport Talgat Lastaev has said that Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Georgia integrated their railway systems into a multimodal digital platform, which serves as a digital trade corridor for the countries of the Middle Corridor. 

Lastaev made these remarks during a ministerial roundtable on "Sustainable and Digital Middle Corridor and Beyond" within the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), Caliber.Az reports per local media.

He highlighted that negotiations are underway with the railway administrations of Türkiye and Europe to enhance the efficiency of transport corridors, and digital solutions for cargo tracking are being implemented. Plans include data exchange integration with the ports of Aktau, Kuryk, and Baku. Kazakhstan has already introduced a system for exchanging permit documents with 42 countries and is implementing projects for the digitalization of transport, including the exchange of electronic permits with Uzbekistan and China, which will enable a significant portion of documentation to be transformed into a digital format.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, is an international transport route that runs through China, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and stretching in Türkiye and European countries. A key component of this corridor is the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. 

COP29, being held from November 11 to 22 at Baku Stadium, represents Azerbaijan's largest and most significant international event to date, marking the first time the country has hosted a COP summit. The event began with the signing of a Host Country Agreement and other important documents between the Azerbaijani government and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat. A central focus of COP29 is the establishment of a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) for climate finance. In line with this, the presidency of COP29 has introduced 14 key initiatives that link climate action to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

These initiatives cover areas such as green energy corridors, energy storage, climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction from organic waste, and the development of green digital technologies. One of the flagship proposals is the creation of a Climate Finance Action Fund, aimed at supporting the critical goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Throughout COP29, Azerbaijan has demonstrated its commitment to climate action and environmental protection. The unanimous decision to elect Azerbaijan as the host for this summit underscores the global community’s trust in the country’s leadership on climate issues. In his opening remarks, President Ilham Aliyev emphasized Azerbaijan’s pivotal role in global climate efforts, underscoring the country’s dedication to mitigating climate change and advancing sustainable development.

By Naila Huseynova