Transport to drive Azerbaijan's cooperation with Central Asia, expert says

Transportation is the sector that will lead to more active and closer cooperation between Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries, according to Emin Mammadzada, a leading researcher at the Institute of Economics of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences.

According to Report, speaking at a video conference on "Development of Transport Corridors of the SCO and EAEU," Mammadzada highlighted Azerbaijan's strategic position as a country through which important transit corridors "East-West" and "North-South" pass.

"This is precisely why our country has been increasing its infrastructure, introducing new technologies, and actively participating in the diversification of transport routes in recent years," he said.

Mammadzada also mentioned the potential for new alternative routes through Armenia, Nakhchivan, and further to Türkiye, which could reduce travel time and costs. He reported that the volume of freight traffic through Azerbaijan has grown by 2.5 times compared to 2023 figures.

"Our country is signing agreements on the transportation of 'green energy' to European markets. So, the transport sector is the industry that will lead to the integration of our countries. But efforts need to be made to liberalize tariffs. Meetings at the level of heads of state should help in the development of transport corridors," Mammadzada emphasized.

Yuri Petrov, Advisor on International Cooperation at Russia's Directorate of International Transport Corridors, noted that amid the current geopolitical instability, Russia plans to participate in new transport routes, particularly as a trading partner of Central Asian countries via the Caspian Sea. This includes a route initiated by Kyrgyzstan, which will stretch from Kyrgyzstan through Turkmenistan and further across the Caspian Sea, attracting interest from Uzbekistan and China as well.

Bekzod Kholmatov, Director of the Center for Studying Problems of Transport and Logistics Development under the Ministry of Transport of Uzbekistan, confirmed the importance of transport corridors for his country, which lacks access to the world ocean and open seas.

"For us, the development of corridors, both in the northern and southern directions, is equally important," he said, adding that Uzbekistan is currently working on forming a new southern corridor through Afghanistan and India to access the Indian Ocean.