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.