Azerbaijani president: Cargo from China, Central Asia to go through Zangazur Corridor

"Of course, we expect cargo from China and Central Asian countries to travel along the Zangazur Corridor as well. We naturally view it primarily as a link with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, but also as an international transport corridor," Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with local TV channels on January 5, Report informs.

"Currently, there is only one railway route from Azerbaijan westward. There will be two. Two are always better than one, especially when you have no access to the world ocean and have to go through neighboring countries. It is always better to have an alternative for volumes, to be competitive, to prevent monopolization of the transit route by anyone, and, of course, to ensure more competitive tariffs.

This is a very large sector of our interaction, and, of course, in this case, Azerbaijan is, I believe, a priority partner for the People's Republic of China in this region, both in terms of volumes of trade and potential, and also as a country distributing the flow from the South Caucasus to further destinations, so to speak. And these flows, as we all understand, can go in many directions. From here, they can go in two directions to the West, and then again in two directions through the Zangazur Corridor in the southern direction, towards the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, and, of course, in the northern direction, which will also be fully utilized.

Therefore, Azerbaijan should play the role of a facilitator, so to speak - a country that contributes to the increase in cargo flows, a country that invests in its infrastructure and in the infrastructure of neighboring countries, and a distributor of flows, based, of course, on commercial viability and many other factors. Therefore, Azerbaijan's role as a transport hub, especially one that has no access to the world ocean, will naturally grow," he noted.