BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 23. The United
States-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC) and the
America-Georgia Business Council (AGBC) hosted a roundtable with
Rolande Pryce, the World Bank’s Regional Director for the South
Caucasus, on the Middle Corridor and regional cooperation.


"The discussion focused on the investments and operational
improvements needed to make the route more reliable: stronger rail
and port connections, more efficient border procedures, better
logistics coordination, and digitalization. These steps can help
turn growing interest in the corridor into trade and investment
opportunities across Central Asia, the South Caucasus, Türkiye, and
Europe," said the USACC.


The event was joined by Vinay Chawla, Acting Special
Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs and Ambassador
Ann Marine Yastishock of the U.S. Department of State.


The Middle Corridor is a transport and trade route passing
through a number of countries in the region and connecting Asia
with Europe. It serves as an alternative to the traditional
Northern and Southern Corridors. The route begins in China and runs
through the countries of Central Asia. It then crosses the Caspian
Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye, before reaching Europe. The
Middle Corridor is a land route that bypasses longer sea routes,
connecting eastern regions of Asia, including China, with
Europe.


The World Bank has highlighted the Middle Corridor’s potential
to support economic growth across the countries along its route by
facilitating trade, generating employment and encouraging new
business activity. According to the Bank’s 2024 report, a
combination of infrastructure investment and measures to improve
operational efficiency could halve transit times and triple trade
volumes along the corridor by 2030.







Azerbaijan is working with other countries participating in the
Middle Corridor to improve transport links, simplify border
procedures and expand the use of digital systems for exchanging
logistics data. Key infrastructure supporting the route includes
the Baku International Sea Trade Port, the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars
railway, the Alat Free Economic Zone and newly developing logistics
hubs.


The Baku Port is also undergoing expansion, with its annual
cargo-handling capacity expected to increase from 15 million tons
to 25 million tons.


Digitalization and streamlined border procedures have already
contributed to significantly shorter transit times. Freight
shipments between China and Europe that previously required 38–53
days can now reach their destination in around 12 days, supported
by electronic permitting, systems such as e-TIR and e-CMR,
real-time cargo monitoring, more efficient customs procedures and
faster data exchange between government agencies.


With global trade routes becoming increasingly diversified and
interconnected, the Middle Corridor has the potential to play a
larger role in the evolving structure of Eurasian trade. The route
is also developing beyond its traditional role as a transit link
between China and Europe, increasingly generating demand for
logistics services, infrastructure investment and new trade flows
along the countries and markets connected to it.