BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 18. Azerbaijan consistently expands and deepens cooperation with Central Asia, Senior Advisor at the Center for Analysis of International Relations, Roza Bayramli, said at an international conference entitled 'C6: One region, shared future—enhancing strategic dialogue,' Trend reports.
According to her, this has been recorded in a number of areas, from trade and investment to energy, industrial cooperation, humanitarian ties, and the development of regional connectivity in recent years.
She explained that this interaction is systematic, relying on regular political dialogue and growing practical interest from businesses in sustainable and predictable cooperation channels.
"Against this backdrop, the transport and logistics agenda is particularly relevant. In today's geopolitical realities, infrastructure and logistics are viewed both as an economic tool and a sustainability factor. This area of interaction particularly impacts the ability of states and companies to support foreign trade and transit flows, reduce costs and risks, ensure route diversification, and maintain competitiveness. Therefore, a discussion about transport today is a discussion about the stability of supply chains, market confidence in corridors, and the extent to which a region can offer predictable connectivity services, rather than just routes on a map," she said.
The senior adviser noted that in this context, the C6 agenda acquires practical significance.
"The topic of connectivity and transport is a key one here, as it directly affects the interests of all participants. This context addresses issues ranging from synchronizing infrastructure projects and procedures at junctions to developing multimodal solutions, digitalization, eliminating bottlenecks, and creating transparent commercial conditions. This work is being conducted both within the C6 format itself and in parallel—through bilateral mechanisms, as well as trilateral and multilateral platforms, and in the context of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), that is, in formats where countries in the region are clarifying the practical parameters of cooperation, from coordinating schedules and tariffs to exchanging data and simplifying procedures," emphasized Bayramli.
Speaking about bilateral, trilateral, and multilateral formats, she noted that the transport and logistics agenda between Azerbaijan and the countries of Central Asia has already acquired an institutional dimension.
"In particular, on September 20, 2024, in Baku, with the participation of Azerbaijan Railways, Uzbekistan Railways, and the railway administrations of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the Eurasian Transport Route (ETR) international association was established. Its mission is to develop integrated logistics products, unify transportation technologies, develop an effective tariff policy, implement digital solutions, and optimize costs. This aims to create a supranational operational framework for the operation of the 'southern branch' of the Middle Corridor, which runs through China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, and Türkiye.
At the same time, work continues to eliminate infrastructure and operational constraints at the Trans-Caspian junction, which is critical for the region. Both framework strategic planning documents and applicable agreements to address bottlenecks are being formally established. For example, on September 30, 2025, an action plan was signed between the railways of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Georgia to eliminate bottlenecks within the Middle Corridor. This complements "the roadmap for the development of the Middle Corridor for 2022–2027, signed by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Türkiye in 2022," she concluded.
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