BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 27. Kazakhstan Ambassador to Belgium Roman Vassilenko and Director of International Development at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges Wim Dillen discussed the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (Middle Corridor) on September 23.
This was announced in a rstatement published by the Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the Ministry, in the course of the meeting, the sides also discussed establishing direct interaction between the Port of Antwerp-Bruges and Kazakhstan’s ports of Aktau and Kuryk.
“As practical areas, the sides proposed exchanging experience in port management and digitalization of port infrastructure, multimodal logistics, smart-port technologies, decarbonization and training of port specialists,” the ministry said.
The possibility of training Kazakh specialists at specialized centers in Antwerp was also discussed, as well as using Antwerp as a European logistics and distribution hub for Kazakh metals, critical raw materials, petrochemical and agricultural products. In the future, the sides proposed considering the conclusion of a framework cooperation document between the Port of Antwerp-Bruges and the ports of Aktau and Kuryk.
In addition, Vassilenko held meetings with the leadership of the Antwerp-Waasland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VOKA), the Antwerp city administration and the innovation and technology hub The Beacon.
During the meetings, the main attention was paid to expanding trade and investment cooperation, developing the Middle Corridor and digitalization, as well as establishing direct links between the business and innovation ecosystems of Kazakhstan and Antwerp.
The upcoming first state visit by King Philippe of Belgium to Kazakhstan, scheduled for autumn 2026, was also discussed during the meetings. Representatives of Antwerp’s business community were invited to participate in the Kazakhstan-Belgium Business Forum in Astana and use the visit to establish new direct contacts with Kazakh companies and government institutions.
Following the visit, the sides confirmed their interest in moving from dialogue to specific investment, technology and infrastructure projects, as well as developing direct links between companies, ports, innovation hubs and municipal authorities of Kazakhstan and Antwerp.
Antwerp Province is one of Belgium and Europe’s major industrial, logistics and innovation centers. Its GDP amounted to about 117.8 billion euros in 2024, accounting for around 19% of Belgium’s GDP of 620.3 billion euros and making the province one of the country’s largest economic centers. The regional economy specializes in port logistics, the chemical and petrochemical industries, mechanical engineering, pharmaceuticals, advanced technologies and innovation. The VOKA Antwerpen-Waasland industrial network brings together around 300 manufacturing companies, including BASF, INEOS, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Atlas Copco, Katoen Natie, Indaver and Umicore.
