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.