BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 29. The development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, also known as the Middle Corridor) requires both financial resources and collaborative effort, James Sharp, the former UK's Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, told Trend.
"The route has to be developed with both cooperation and investment. The concepts of "hard connectivity" and "soft connectivity" are not free from issues. Hard connectivity includes things such as the building or upgrade of railway lines, the purchase of rolling stock, and port infrastructure. Soft connectivity is more about customs procedures, transit fees, standards, and regulations," he said.
In general, Sharp claims that while soft connectivity requires collaboration, hard connectivity requires investment.
"As regards investment, that is definitely happening, with the EU hosting a Global Gateway meeting earlier this year at which pledges of around 10 billion euros were made. And as regards cooperation, we’re already seeing regional governments and organizations start to tackle the issues raised in the World Bank and EBRD reports. So, while there’s still a long way to go, I’m optimistic that we’ll see a lot of progress," he said.
As Sharp noted, the benefits of the Middle Corridor are not simply about transporting goods between China and Europe.
"There will be even bigger benefits to the countries of the region thanks to better connectivity between the region and Europe/China, and also between the countries of the region themselves. Better rail and maritime connections allow more trade, more exports from these countries," he said.
As he noted, since the start of the war in Ukraine, there has been a significant change in attitudes in Europe towards transporting goods via Russia.
"This has sparked renewed interest in what is called the Middle Corridor. Interestingly, it’s not only the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has increased interest in the Middle Corridor. The events in the Red Sea, where the Houthis have been launching missiles and drones against commercial shipping, have also made governments and companies aware of the need to diversify transport routes. So I think there are several reasons why investing in the Middle Corridor makes sense as an additional way of linking Asia and Europe, and it’s clear that the governments of the region, supported by the EU and international financial institutions, have definite plans to boost its potential. I very much support this. Of course, the Middle Corridor will not replace the other routes - but it will provide an alternative route. And, of course, much still needs to happen. As well as the obvious bottleneck caused by the need to switch between rail and maritime transport when crossing the Caspian Sea, a significant amount of work needs to be done due to the fact that the route crosses so many countries," James Sharp noted.
The Middle Corridor is a transportation and trade route that connects Asia and Europe, passing through several countries in the region. It is an alternative route to the traditional Northern Corridor and Southern Corridor.
The route starts in China and crosses Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It then passes through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye before reaching Europe.
The Middle Corridor offers a land route that connects the eastern parts of Asia, including China, with Europe, bypassing the longer maritime routes.