On 7–9 September, Baku will host the international conference and exhibition BLACK AND CASPIAN FREIGHT FORUM 2026: corridors, infrastructure, investments. This is the fifth edition of the forum, and this year's theme is corridors, infrastructure and investments.
The forum brings together the people who actually run the infrastructure and the cargo flows between Asia, the Caspian, the Black Sea and Europe: seaports and terminals, shipping and ferry operators, railways, freight forwarders and cargo owners, regulators, international financial institutions and investors.
We expect more than 150 delegates from 100 companies and over 20 countries.
Dates: 7–9 September 2026
Venue: Baku, Azerbaijan, Four Seasons Hotel Baku
Format: conference, exhibition, pre-scheduled B2B meetings, site visit to a logistics hub
Languages: English and Russian, with simultaneous interpretation
Why Baku and why now
The Middle Corridor is working: cargo is moving, volumes are growing, infrastructure is being built. Which is why one question is being asked more often than any other right now: what are the next steps in its development, and what investment will they take? Ferry fleet, port capacity, customs procedures, digital integration: work is going on in all these areas at once, and each has its own circle of investors. Hence this year's theme: corridors, infrastructure and investments. And Baku is the very point where sea and land physically meet on the route, and where the people who build the infrastructure, the people who keep the cargo moving and the people who finance such projects will all be in one room.
Key topics on the programme:
- The Middle Corridor (TITR): what volumes and transit times can the route realistically handle in 2026–2027?
- New branch lines and geopolitics: the Zangezur route (TRIPP) and the trans-Afghan direction, and how the corridor's strategic role is changing.
- China's role in building up corridor capacity: current and planned projects, container trains, backhaul cargo.
- Caspian shipping and ferries: new higher-capacity vessels, containerisation of the region, Ro-Ro growth and where rates are heading.
- Port upgrades to 2030: berths, cranes, dredging, hinterland connectivity.
- The structure of cargo flows: energy, grain, fertilisers, metals and critical minerals.
- Digital infrastructure of the corridor: shared data exchange platforms, customs harmonisation, electronic documentation. Is there any real progress?
- Where the money of the international financial institutions is going (EBRD, ADB, the World Bank, AIIB, EIB): which projects they finance, and on what terms.
- The EU Global Gateway and the investment package for the Trans-Caspian route: how pledges turn into projects, how much has actually been financed, and what PPPs and blended finance deliver.
- The legal and insurance landscape of regional logistics: how to manage risk on a multimodal route.
Who will be in the room:
- Seaports, terminals and stevedores of the Black and Caspian Seas
- Shipping, ferry and Ro-Ro operators, shipowners, agents and brokers
- Railways, container train and wagon operators
- Freight forwarders, multimodal operators, 3PL and 4PL providers
- Cargo owners: energy, grain, fertilisers, metals, critical minerals, project cargo
- International financial institutions, development banks and infrastructure funds
- Private and strategic industry investors
- Ministries of transport and economy, regulators, customs authorities
- Industry associations and professional bodies
- Dredging, engineering and port technology companies
- Legal, insurance and survey companies
Three days of the forum:
- 7 September - registration, networking, evening cocktail reception
- 8 September - full conference day, exhibition, pre-scheduled B2B meetings, gala dinner (approximately 9:00 – 22:00)
- 9 September - site visit to a logistics hub
Advertising, sponsorship and exhibition
An exhibition area runs alongside the conference. Sponsorship and advertising options, as well as exhibition stands, are arranged individually: write to the organising committee and we will send you the current packages.
We welcome media partners
We are open to media partnerships with industry associations and specialist media. Terms are agreed individually: announcements and publications, mutual logo placement, accreditation for your correspondents, access to conference materials, discounts for your members. Get in touch and we will put together a proposal tailored to your audience.
Full information about the organiser and the event is on our website: www.rdl.group
We invite everyone interested to join the forum, discuss the issues that matter to the industry and find partners for new routes and projects.
See you in Baku!
Best regards,
Roman Dedkov
Founder & CEO | RDL group
+38 (097) 927 35 05 (WhatsApp, Telegram)
+38 (093) 177 60 55
+370 691 98 6 98
