Baku, Ankara mull prospects for increasing transit cargo transportation
Azerbaijan’s delegation led by the minister of economy, chairman of the Coordinating Council for Transit Freight Shahin Mustafayev, visited the city of Kars in Turkey.
AIn the course of his visit, a meeting with the Minister of Transport, Navigation and Communications of Turkey Ahmed Arslan took place, according to the ministry’s message.
The sides discussed the possibilities of developing cooperation in all spheres, in particular, in the transport and transit area.
It was noted that the number of trucks moving from Turkey to Central Asia and vice versa has increased in transit traffic.
The infrastructure (railway, the international sea trade port of Alat) opens wide opportunities for further increasing cargo transportation.
The sides stressed the importance of promoting the TransCaspian transit and East-West trade corridor. They also discussed expansion of economic relations between the two countries.
The Azerbaijani delegation is also expected to visit Georgia, where they will hold a series of meetings with the country’s officials.
The meetings will focus on economic cooperation, as well as prospects for expanding relations in the transport and transit sphere.
Two neighbors, Azerbaijan and Turkey, are cooperating on a number of important transportation projects such as Trans-Caspian Transport Route (East-West).
The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route runs from China through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and further through Turkey or Ukraine to Europe.
The launch of BTK in 2017 can certainly be considered as the main regional event in transport sphere. A solemn ceremony to open the BakuTbilisi-Kars railway took place on October 30 at the Baku International Sea Trade Port was attended by presidents of the regional countries.
In November, Turkey announced its readiness to begin construction of a second railway line within the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars corridor in its territory.
Later, a protocol was signed in Baku, which approved the reduction of tariffs for transportation along BTK in 2018. The tariffs for cargo transportation between Azerbaijan and Turkey on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway were announced in December.
In late November, the first freight train was launched along the corridor in the opposite direction - from Turkey to Central Asia.
The BTK facilitates the interconnection of the Trans-European and Trans-Asian railway networks, direct access of cargo and passengers to Europe and Asia through the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey and will ensure the growth of the transit potential of the countries of the region.
The railway’s peak capacity will be 17 million tons of cargo per year. At an initial stage, this figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo. zerbaijan’s delegation led by the minister of economy, chairman of the Coordinating Council for Transit Freight Shahin Mustafayev, visited the city of Kars in Turkey.