ASTANA, Kazakhstan, September 27. Kazakhstan and China plan to increase the volume of cargo transportation between the countries along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, Middle Corridor) to 27 million tons in 2023, Trend reports.
As was noted during the meeting, in 2022, a record volume of cargo was transported between countries along the Middle Corridor - 23.2 million tons.
This was stated during a meeting between the Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan and China, Marat Karabayev, and Li Xiaopeng on the sidelines of the Global Sustainable Transport Forum in Beijing (China).
The ministers reviewed specific issues in the transport and logistics, road, and aviation industries.
They agreed that the Middle Corridor has acquired strategic importance and is capable of significantly increasing the level of interaction between countries.
Marat Karabaev noted that the introduction of a mutual visa-free regime for up to 30 days will contribute to an increase in cargo transportation volumes and will open up new opportunities for the development of transit potential.
During the negotiations, a high degree of progress was noted in the signing of the Intergovernmental Agreement on the development of the TITR route. Along with this, the implementation of projects related to the development of the infrastructure complex and increasing throughput capacity was discussed.
In conclusion, the parties discussed the issue of providing aviation fuel to Kazakh carriers. The Chinese side announced its readiness to consider the export of special liquids for the needs of civil aviation in Kazakhstan.
This month, a regular flight was launched on the route Hangzhou-Almaty. Thus, today there are 22 regular flights per week between Kazakhstan and China.
The Middle Corridor is a transportation and trade route that connects Asia and Europe, passing through several countries in the region. It is an alternative route to the traditional Northern Corridor and Southern Corridor. The route starts in China and crosses Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It then passes through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye before reaching Europe. The Middle Corridor offers a land route that connects the eastern parts of Asia, including China, with Europe, bypassing the longer maritime routes.