Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, May 31 / Trend. Trend H. Hasanov /
Turkmenistan is interested in joining the 'Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway' transport project. This arises from the text of a joint statement signed by the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly
Berdymuhamedov and the President of Turkey Abdullah Gul who is on an official visit in Ashgabat from May 29 to 31.
The document was published on Friday in Turkmen media.
"Stressing the importance of the continuous high-speed communication the development of trade relations between the two countries, the parties drew attention to the importance of the participation of Turkmenistan in the 'Central Corridor' which will provideCentral Asia with an access through the Caspian Sea to Europe by 'Baku-Tbilisi-Kars' railway, the statement says.
Noting the positive dynamics of the growth of trade and economic relations between Turkmenistan and the Republic of Turkey, the sides stressed the importance of the raising these relations to a higher level.
The sides expressed willingness to enhance cooperation in the field of transport and communications, noted the importance of efficient use and further development of transport and communication infrastructure in the framework of international transport corridors by promoting and increasing the volume of transit cargo traffic.
In October 2012, Uzbek President Islam Karimov who was in Ashgabat with a visit and the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov released a joint statement noting the importance of realization of Navoi-Turkmenbashi-Baku-Tbilisi-Kars transport project which can provide a broad access to international markets.
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are constructing the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line to transport goods from China and Central Asia. As is expected, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, which will have direct access to the European rail network, will annually transport about 30 million tons of cargo.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line will allow increasing the flow of container, bulk and other types of cargo from Asia to Europe. At the same time implementation of the 'Marmaris' project on the construction of a railway tunnel under the Bosporus, which will allow opening direct communication to Europe, is nearing completion.