BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 4. The geographical location of Azerbaijan makes it one of the critical countries along the route of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor (TITR, or Middle Corridor), Türkiye's Trade Minister Omar Bolat told Trend.
"Cooperation between Türkiye and Azerbaijan contributes significantly to the regional supply chain, connecting countries from the Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea," he said. "Azerbaijan is a strategically important country along the Middle Corridor route due to its location on the Caspian Sea coast and its realized potential." We anticipate the establishment of the Zangazur corridor, which will strengthen Azerbaijan's position in the region."
He noted that traditionally, trade between Türkiye and Central Asia has been routed through Russia and Iran.
"Because of the armed conflict in Ukraine and Russian sanctions, there are risks associated with transporting goods from China to Europe, which has increased the search for alternative routes." "In this context, the Middle Corridor serves as an important alternative to ensure continuous trade between East and West," the minister said.
"The efficient use of the Caspian Sea for transporting goods along the Middle Corridor is of great significance. However, efforts should be made to make transportation to Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan and the ports of Aktau and Kuryk in Kazakhstan more effective. Ro-Ro (roll-on/roll-off) shipments on the Caspian Sea are irregular and need to become more regular and cost-competitive compared to the Iranian route," Bolat said.
Besides, he reminded that since March 2023, the tariff for Ro-Pax freight transport on the Turkmenbashi-Baku-Turkmenbashi route has been reduced to increase trade volumes through the Caspian Sea and enhance Turkmenistan's transit transportation capabilities.
"Recently, Azerbaijan has taken significant steps to improve Caspian Sea transportation and has provided discounts, but Ro-Ro shipments in the Caspian have not yet reached the desired level due to high costs, small Ro-Ro vessel sizes, capacity issues, and transportation disruptions, especially in winter conditions," the official noted.
Bolat emphasized that improvements in these regions will encourage not just Azerbaijan and Türkiye, but also regional carriers, to adopt this route.
"Thus, the reduction of high transportation costs on Azerbaijani highways, the complete liberalization of transit document quotas, an increase in the number and capacity of Ro-Ro vessels and the number of voyages, as well as a reduction in transportation time, will make the Middle Corridor more attractive and facilitate its development," he explained.
"Meanwhile, the commissioning of the Zangazur Corridor, connecting Türkiye to Central Asia through the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the main part of Azerbaijan, will facilitate trade," the minister added.
He stressed that all these developments will contribute to improving the logistics position and strengthening the power of Azerbaijan and Türkiye.
The Middle Corridor is a multilateral institutional development linking the containerized rail freight transport networks of China and the European Union through the economies of Central Asia, the Caucasus, Türkiye, and Eastern Europe. The multilateral, multi-modal transport institution links Caspian and Black Sea ferry terminals with rail systems in China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye, Ukraine, and Poland.
The Middle Corridor serves to increase freight traffic from China to Türkiye, as well as to European countries and in the reverse direction.
The block train running along this corridor delivers cargo from China to Europe in an average of 20–25 days. This is one of the main advantages of the transport corridor.