Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 12
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
Ukraine is ready to join creation of new transport corridors within the framework of developing its transit potential and connect to the existing routes, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said, according to the website of the Ukrainian government.
He said the routes include the South-Western direction from Central Asia via Georgia and Azerbaijan towards Europe. Groysman was commenting on the possibility of creating a joint venture by Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
The joint venture will use a single window system for handling of cargoes along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.
The proposal to create the joint venture was made by the heads of the Azerbaijani, Georgian and Kazakh railway administrations Javid Gurbanov, Mamuka Bakhtadze and Kanat Alpysbayev at the meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman in Kiev Apr. 11.
Groysman stressed that cooperation in the transport sphere with the member countries of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM) and Ukraine’s partners in Central Asia is a priority shared by both the government of Ukraine and the governments of its partner countries.
“We have complete understanding at the level of the heads of government,” Groysman added.
In this context, he recalled that a special logistics committee has been already created in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and said that this committee will deal with transport issues and improve cooperation with other countries.
The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route runs through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and then through Turkey and Ukraine to Europe.
In October 2016, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Georgia signed an agreement on the establishment of the “Trans-Caspian International Transport Route” association with its office in Astana. Its activities are aimed at attracting transit and foreign trade cargo, as well as developing integrated logistics products via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.