BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 18. The State Statistics Committee has released data on the volume of cargo transportation by all types of vehicles in Azerbaijan from January through April 2024, Trend reports.
According to the information, it amounted to 73.8 million tons against 71.2 million tons from January through April last year, with 77.3 percent of cargo transportation carried out by private transport enterprises and the rest by state companies.
Maritime transport carried 2.613 million tons of various cargoes (against 2.615 million tons from January through April 2023), while road transport carried 42.08 million tons (39.18 million tons from January through April 2023). Rail transport transported 5.97 million tons of cargo, compared to 5.918 million tons from January through April 2023. Air transportation accounted for the rest.
The revenues from the development of Azerbaijan's transport sector from January through April 2024 amounted to 4.1 billion manat ($2.4 billion), which is 21 percent more than the figure for the first 4 months of 2023, Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev wrote on X.
Azerbaijan Railways CJSC is holding a “Safety Week” on May 13–19 to raise awareness of issues related to the safe transportation of passengers and cargo.
Kazakhstan and Latvia signed a memorandum on the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor) at the end of the week during a meeting between Transport Minister Marat Karabayev and his Latvian counterpart Kaspars Briškens.
Latvia is interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in logistics and cargo transportation along international transport corridors, Latvian Agriculture Ministry State Secretary Raivis Kronberg said in Baku on May 13. He pointed to the geopolitical and commercial importance of such cooperation.
Deputy Economy Minister Sahib Mammadov noted during the Azerbaijani-Latvian business forum that Azerbaijan is active in the framework of the New Great Silk Road project (its main part is the Middle Corridor).
This week, General Director of the Baku International Sea Trade Port, Taleh Ziyadov, said that the ports of Baku and Aktu have “green” certificates from the European Association of Ports, the presence of which, together with a fleet of modern ships, means that a “green” transport corridor is being created across the Caspian Sea.
The development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (Middle Corridor) was among the topics of the 13th Central Asian Trade Forum held in Almaty on May 14–15 under the title “Trade Integration: Going Global”.
Head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Azerbaijan, Nataly Mouravidze, said in an exclusive interview with Trend that Azerbaijan is taking important steps to develop the Middle Corridor trade route.
EU Ambassador to Kazakhstan Kestutis Jankauskas said in an exclusive interview with Trend that the Coordination Platform of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor) will be launched soon.
Director of Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division, Central and West Asia Department, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Lyaziza Sabyrova, emphasized in an exclusive interview with Trend that the Middle Corridor is important for the diversification of trade and transport routes from China to Europe.
She noted that under the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program, TITR is referred to as Corridor 2, offering an opportunity to diversify transport and transit routes from China to Europe through Central Asian and South Caucasus countries, including Azerbaijan. Sabirova pointed out the importance of the fact that TITR is a multimodal route and all its segments are being developed.
Participating this week in the conference in Baku, “GSMA M360 Eurasia 2024,” General Director of the Regional Commonwealth in the field of Communications (RCC) Alexei Borodin noted that Azerbaijan occupies a strategic geographical position for the implementation of land transit projects in the directions of North-South and West-East.
Additionally, it became known that on May 13, India signed an agreement with Iran on the 10-year management of the Iranian port "Chabahar" within the framework of the development of the international transport corridor (ITC) "North-South." This is the first time that India will take over the management of a foreign port, which will have a separate terminal for it.
Canadian analytical resource EurAsian Times noted this week that the North-South International Transport Corridor (ITC) is becoming more attractive to new entrants due to recent geopolitical changes in the world. According to Canadian analysts, the route has the potential to become an attractive alternative for third countries, given that the former trade route through the Red Sea has become much less secure. Russia, Iran, and Azerbaijan play a special role in the North-South ITC.
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