Zangezur corridor to reshape Türkiye’s economic landscape, analyst says

The opening of transport links between western Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic will give a fresh impetus to regional trade and unlock the potential of Anatolia’s Black Sea ports, according to Murat Yılmaz, political analyst and member of the Social Policy Council under the Turkish Presidency.

Speaking at the “Name of Victory – Türkiye” conference hosted by the Black Sea Technical University in Trabzon, Yılmaz emphasised that the Zangezur Corridor, as a vital segment of the Middle Corridor trade route, will positively impact the economic development of the wider Anatolian region, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

“With the expansion of trade corridors, port cities such as Trabzon will gain greater strategic importance. This will lead to job creation and population growth across Türkiye’s Eastern Black Sea provinces,” he noted.

He also voiced confidence that the Zangezur Corridor, together with the Ankara-backed “Development Road” initiative from southern Iraq, will reshape Türkiye’s economic landscape—particularly in its Black Sea regions.

The Zangezur Corridor is a proposed 43-kilometre transport route connecting mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave and linking to Türkiye via the Nakhchivan-Igdir-Kars railway and highway. As a key component of the Middle Corridor—a multimodal trade route from China through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, and Türkiye to Europe—the corridor aims to streamline East-West trade, bypassing traditional routes through Russia and reducing reliance on maritime paths like the Suez Canal.

By Khagan Isayev