BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 7. Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan discussed the current state and prospects of bilateral relations, as well as regional issues of mutual interest, in Tashkent.
This was reported by Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Uzbekistan Huseyn Guliyev in a post on Instagram following his meeting with Turkmen Ambassador to Uzbekistan Shadurdi Meredov.
According to Guliyev, the sides exchanged views on the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.
The diplomats also emphasized the importance of continuing cooperation and strengthening ties among diplomatic missions accredited in Uzbekistan.
The meeting also covered regional issues of mutual interest, the report added.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan is emerging as an important link in the development of the Middle Corridor, which connects China with European markets through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus. As Tashkent expands its transport connectivity, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan are becoming increasingly relevant to Uzbekistan's efforts to develop alternative routes to international markets. The Turkmenbashi International Seaport provides access to the Caspian Sea, while Azerbaijan's Alat International Sea Trade Port and railway network offer onward connections toward the South Caucasus, Türkiye and Europe.
This logistics chain could gain additional importance with the development of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. The project is designed to create a direct rail connection between China and Uzbekistan through Kyrgyzstan and could eventually feed cargo into wider Middle Corridor routes. One potential configuration would connect China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan before continuing toward European markets.
Against this backdrop, the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Turkmen ambassadors accredited in Uzbekistan is notable from a regional connectivity perspective as their countries occupy important positions along potential Central Asian-Caspian routes. This creates a practical basis for coordination on logistics, transit and industrial cooperation as Uzbekistan's role in the Middle Corridor develops.
Given this context, Against this backdrop, the International Transport Forum (ITF) told Trend in an exclusive interview that the Middle Corridor would retain its strategic importance as a diversified Asia-Europe route.
"The Middle Corridor would nevertheless retain strategic value as a diversified Asia–Europe route that avoids both Russia and Iran. It will continue to benefit from strong political and investment support for Eurasian connectivity," ITF said.
