BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 29. Cooperation issues on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (Middle Corridor) have been discussed between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
This was reported by the press service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Digital Development and Transport.
According to the report, the Minister of Digital Development and Transport, Rashad Nabiyev, held a meeting with the Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan, Nurlan Sauranbayev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Samruk-Kazyna OJSC, Nurlan Zhakupov, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kazakhstan Railways, Eljas Otynshiyev.
The meeting discussed issues related to expanding cooperation on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, including investment opportunities in ferry vessels, increasing freight transportation by road, and a project for laying an underwater fiber-optic cable line along the bottom of the Caspian Sea.
At the same time, an exchange of views was held on the draft Agreement on the development of the Middle Corridor and the work done to digitalize the corridor.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Trade and Integration Aset Nusupov told Trend in an exclusive interview that the route interdependence between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan within the framework of the Middle Corridor creates a unique foundation for the joint development of artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions in trade and transport logistics.
Vice Minister also noted that the Middle Corridor, or the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), has become one of Kazakhstan’s main strategic assets of the past decade.
"The figures speak for themselves. Over three years, from 2022 to 2025, the volume of transportation along the route increased more than fivefold. By the end of 2025, total cargo traffic reached 4.5–4.7 million tonnes, of which container transportation amounted to 76,900 TEU (36% more than a year earlier)," Nusupov noted.
He reported that in the first quarter of 2026, 125 container trains passed along the route, which is 34.4% more than in the same period last year. During the same period, 85 trains operated on the Xi’an–Alat Port route (twice as many as a year earlier). Delivery times along the route were almost halved, decreasing from 28–32 days to 11–13 days.
"The importance of the corridor for Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan cooperation can hardly be overstated. It is precisely through Azerbaijan that the key section of the route on the western leg passes," he added.
The Middle Corridor is a transport and trade route connecting Asia and Europe that passes through several countries in the region. It is an alternative to the traditional Northern and Southern Corridors.
The route begins in China and passes through Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, crossing the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye before reaching Europe. The Middle Corridor offers a land route connecting the eastern regions of Asia, including China, with Europe, bypassing the longer sea routes.
