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Turkmenistan lobbying transport corridor from Afghanistan to Europe through Azerbaijan

Business Materials 22 October 2019 19:38 (UTC +04:00)

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Oct. 22

By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:

Turkmenistan is initiating a number of big international projects, including the Lapis Lazuli transit corridor along the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey route, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen Dovlet Khabarlary state news agency.

During his working visit to Tokyo, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov touched on this topic as part of the meeting with students of Japanese universities.

The talks are planned to be held between the Turkmen president and Japanese business circles on Oct. 23.

“We will discuss a wide range of issues of cooperation, including those related to the transport and transit sphere,” the president said. “The transport corridors from the Pacific Ocean to Europe, from northern Russia to the Persian Gulf stretch through Turkmenistan.”

"Afghanistan through Turkmenistan gets the access to the international transport network, which is important in the context of stabilizing the economic situation in a friendly country and an increase in its foreign trade turnover," the president emphasized, citing the Lapis Lazuli transport corridor as an example, thanks to which the Afghan goods are supplied to the European market.

The corresponding agreement on the Lapis Lazuli project among Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Afghanistan was signed on November 15, 2017 at the ministerial meeting of the 7th Conference of Regional Economic Cooperation on Afghanistan in Ashgabat.

In accordance with the Lapis Lazuli transit project, railways and motorways will connect the town of Torghundi Afghanistan’s Heart province with Ashgabat, and then with the Caspian Sea port of Turkmenbashi. The corridor will continue on to Baku, and then through Tbilisi to Ankara with branches in Poti and Batumi. It’s final section will run from Ankara to Istanbul.

The $2 billion project is designed to facilitate transit logistics and simplify customs procedures.

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