BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 28
By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:
Hungary pays great attention to the development of the Lapis Lazuli Transport Corridor (Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary told Trend.
"In our opinion it can give a new alternative for Afghanistan and the countries of Central-Asia to reach world markets thus contributing to the stability and economic development of the region," said the ministry.
"Taking into consideration that the corridor connects Central Asia, the Caucasus and Europe and from this direction, Hungary is a transit – or in rare cases the destination country for goods, in our assessment, the conclusion of the agreement will help Hungarian and Turkmen carriers - and, of course logistic companies - to make better use of the opportunities offered by the Transport Corridor," added the ministry.
In general, talking about countries’ cooperation in the transport sphere, Hungary pointed out that the country supports the Turkmen attempts to make the Turkmen airports, especially Ashgabat a regional cargo and passenger transport center.
"Hungary is particularly grateful to Turkmenistan for its assistance regarding the humanitarian flights over the country due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic," added the ministry.
The agreement on transit and transport cooperation Lapis Lazuli between Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Turkmenistan was signed on Nov. 15, 2017 at the ministerial meeting of the 7th Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan in Ashgabat.
According to the Lapis Lazuli project, railways and highways should connect the Afghan Turgundi city of Herat province with Ashgabat, then with the Caspian Turkmenbashi port. The corridor will extended to Baku, then through Tbilisi to Ankara with links to Poti and Batumi cities, then from Ankara to Istanbul. The project budget, which aims to facilitate transit logistics and simplify customs procedures, is estimated at $2 billion.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
