BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 25. The "Eurasian Transport Route" International Association, established under Azerbaijan's chairmanship, has launched its activities to strengthen the role of Middle Corridor, the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC (ADY) said in a statement, Trend reports.
The General Assembly meeting of the association’s founders was held today in Baku.
Organized under Azerbaijan’s chairmanship, the meeting saw the participation of senior management from the railway administrations of Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, all members of the Association.
ADY Chairman Rovshan Rustamov stated that the legal procedures for the registration of the association, based in Baku, have been completed, and the Association has been formally registered in accordance with the legislation of Azerbaijan.
He further emphasized that, with cargo flows between China and Europe increasing in both directions, the need to diversify transport routes has become increasingly urgent, highlighting the importance of ensuring the full operational capacity of the Eurasian Transport Route.
The meeting noted that the Eurasian Transport Route, regarded as the southern branch of the Middle Corridor, traverses China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye. As of this month, multimodal transportation has commenced from Kashgar in China to Azerbaijan, passing through Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
It was also observed that the construction of the Uzbekistan–Kyrgyzstan–China railway will further strengthen the role of the Eurasian Transport Route. Moreover, by establishing a connection between the Middle Corridor and the Trans-Afghan Corridor, this route is expected to create new opportunities for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The ADY chairman also said that the development of the southern branch of the Middle Corridor will enable Azerbaijan to become the main bridge between Central Asia and Europe and increase transit volumes through the country, while also ensuring the maximum use of key infrastructure such as the Port of Baku and the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway, and that the Zangezur corridor will further expand these opportunities.
The event discussed the necessary measures for launching the activities of the association. After the discussions, the agenda items, the corporate structure of the association, the structure of the secretariat and working bodies, planned measures for organizing the association’s activities, and other issues, were approved.
A decision was made to prepare the regulations of special working groups on the development of the Eurasian Transport Route, including dispatching, infrastructure development, commerce, digitalization, marketing, communication, and legal matters, as well as to prepare detailed marketing plans for 2026, and to submit the agreed projects for discussion at the next meeting of the General Assembly.
The meeting concluded that several measures should be undertaken to organize the activities of the international association. These measures include analyzing the current state of intermodal transportation along the Eurasian Transport Route, identifying and addressing bottlenecks through route diagnostics, applying IT solutions and digital platforms for transport management, determining schedules, resources, and priorities to remove restrictions, and ensuring the continued development of the route.
Furthermore, the meeting emphasized the importance of establishing partnership relations between the association and stakeholders across the Eurasian region—including Central European countries, China, and Pakistan, as well as with international organizations, in addition to implementing promotional activities to raise awareness of the route and strengthen its position within the Eurasian intermodal transport services market.
The “Eurasian Transport Route” Association was established on September 20, 2024, in Baku, with the participation of ADY, Uzbekistan Railways, Kyrgyzstan National Railway Company, and Tajikistan Railways. The Association was created with the objectives of attracting transit cargo, developing integrated logistics products, creating a unified technology for transportation processes, implementing effective tariff policies, and optimizing costs.
Azerbaijan’s chairmanship of the association strengthens ADY’s position as one of the main operators in the region, transforming Azerbaijan into a strategic dispatching center where key decisions on organizing transit along the entire southern branch of the Middle Corridor are made. This enables the company the opportunity to influence tariff policy, standardize logistics procedures, develop digital platforms for transport coordination, and create favorable conditions for attracting international investment into railway projects.
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