ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 17. After the meeting between the presidents of Kazakhstan and China, the Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan, Marat Karabayev, has signed with the Chinese side an agreement between the governments of Kazakhstan and China on the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor), including for container trains between China and Europe, Trend reports.
As part of the document, the parties agreed to jointly promote cooperation in the development of TITR and container transportation along the China-Europe route.
Thus, in order to further develop TITR within the framework of this Agreement, the parties strive to cooperate and ensure coordination of actions to ensure the proper operational condition of transport infrastructure facilities on the territory of states and increase the capacity of main pipelines and port infrastructure, to jointly form a favorable development environment to support the stable and unimpeded functioning of TITR, to implement a mechanism for preliminary notification of the parties to prevent idle time of freight vehicles and trains at international checkpoints, to facilitate the exchange of rolling stock tracking data on the territory of states, etc.
In addition, the parties will strive to develop cooperation to stimulate and increase export-import and transit container traffic along the new Eurasian Continental Bridge, which means transport corridors through the territory of Kazakhstan within the framework of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, with its further integration with TITR.
Also, the agreement, concluded for an indefinite period, stipulates the creation of a working group on the transportation of goods on the TITR at the level of ministries in charge of the transport sector.
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.