Turkmenistan’s joining BTK to further strengthen trade ties

Turkmenistan’s connection to the Baku-TbilisiKars (BTK) railway will give impetus to the further development of trade and economic relations between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.

This was stated by Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Hajibala Abutalibov at a solemn event dedicated to the 27th anniversary of independence of Turkmenistan, organized by the country’s embassy in Baku.

He congratulated the Turkmen side on a significant date, stressing that the peoples of the two countries have common roots and history.

Abutalibov emphasized that Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev, who repeatedly made official visits to Turkmenistan, attached great importance to the relations between the two countries.

“Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s policy is also aimed at strengthening ties with Turkmenistan, as a result of which it was possible to implement largescale projects, such as Turkmenistan’s further accession to the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, as well as the implementation of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project,” he said.

Earlier, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey Mehmet Cahit Turhan told Trend that three cargo trips are carried out between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan via BTK railway weekly.

The minister also noted that since the start of operation of the BTK railway, 100,000 tons of cargo have been transported in 102 container trains.

Turhan went on to say that with the BTK railway, construction of one of the important sections of the Middle Corridor in Turkey was completed, adding that BTK became a part of the work to revive the Silk Road, which is not only a transport and economic project, but also a political, cultural and social one.

On October 30, a solemn ceremony on the occasion of the opening of the BTK railway was held at the Baku International Sea Trade Port. Two trains from Kazakhstan to Turkish Mersin have already been sent via this route. The first train, consisting of 30 containers, on November 4, delivered 600 tons of wheat to the Turkish city of Mersin. The second freight train left Kazakhstan on November 27. The train has already reached Georgia.

The BTK railway is constructed on the basis of the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey intergovernmental agreement. The main purpose of the project is to improve economic relations between the three countries and attract foreign direct investment by connecting Europe and Asia.

In fact, the BTK railway route is the shortest way to deliver cargo from the Russian regions located in the Volga, Ural and Siberian Federal Districts to the Mediterranean ports of Turkey, and further to the countries of Africa and the Middle East.

The project implementation began in 2007 and construction began in 2008. The line is intended to transport one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of freight at the first stage. This capacity will then reach 3 million passengers and 17 million tons of cargo.