BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 14. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR or Middle Corridor) provides a good opportunity to develop land transportation, taking into account the worldwide geopolitical situation, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Roman Vassilenko said in a interview with "Diário de Notícias" Portuguese newspaper, Trend reports.
According to him, China is one of the main partners of Kazakhstan, in terms of trade it ranks second after Russia.
"The EU, consisting is Kazakhstan's biggest trade partner and investor, however, when speaking about countries, then Russia ranks first, immediately followed by China, which is also becoming one of the largest investors not only in the energy sector, but also in such areas as construction, engineering and industry," Vassilenko said.
He noted that it was in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, that Chinese President Xi announced the New Silk Road exactly nine year ago, in September 2013.
He said that maritime trade is also huge now and one can't claim to compete with the volume of goods that are transported from China to Europe by sea.
"However there is a great opportunity, given the geopolitical situation, to develop land transportation from China through Kazakhstan and so called Middle Corridor, which passes through not only the two countries, bu also through Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Black Sea and Eastern Europe. I should add that Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus have worked very well to create the North China-Europe route for ten years, but now it's becoming clear that there is a great need for diversity," Vassilenko said.