FM: Azerbaijan strengthening its position as key logistics hub in region

Azerbaijan is actively developing strategic transport routes – the Middle Corridor and the Zangazur Corridor – strengthening its role in international supply chains and regional connectivity, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said in an interview with the Chinese publication Global Times, Report informs.

"Azerbaijan's modern infrastructure, such as its railway network, ports on the Caspian Sea, and free economic zones, already plays a growing role in broader regional connectivity. Azerbaijan is considered a reliable and stable transit partner that contributes to the resilience and diversification of supply chains.

Azerbaijan positions the Middle Corridor (Trans-Caspian International Transport Route) as a strategic, competitive, and complementary route connecting China with Europe via Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, the South Caucasus, and onward to Türkiye and Europe.

The East-West Economic corridor has opened up new economic and transport prospects within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Particular attention is being given to the digitalization of customs and transit operations," he said.

"In 2025, through the investments of Azerbaijan, the expansion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, as part of the Middle Corridor, was completed. Its throughput capacity has been brought to 5 million tons per year. Azerbaijan intends to increase the throughput capacity of the Alat International Sea Port from 15 to 25 million tons per year.

The Middle Corridor is a reliable and safe route connecting China and Central Asia with Europe through Azerbaijan. Since 2022, the volume of cargo traffic along the Middle Corridor has increased by almost 90 percent. The transit time for goods has been significantly reduced along this corridor. A recent example of a block train, which arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, from the Chinese city of Xi'an in less than 12 days, clearly demonstrates the Middle Corridor's efficiency.

The recent agreements on connecting the main part of Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic will contribute to the expansion of transit opportunities for international transportation. I am confident that in the near future, this Corridor will become another important segment of the Middle Corridor, strengthening peace, multilateral partnership, and bringing benefits to all the close and distant neighbors of Azerbaijan to the east, west, north, and south of our borders.

Overall, Azerbaijan views the alignment of the BRI with its national development strategies as a long-term strategic partnership with tangible economic outcomes. By positioning both the Middle Corridor and the Zangazur Corridor as complementary elements of Eurasian connectivity, Azerbaijan aims to reinforce its role as a key logistics hub linking Asia and Europe, while contributing to regional stability, economic growth, and mutually beneficial cooperation with China," Bayramov added.