Krnjevic: Multimodal utility of Zangazur Corridor is great

The multimodal utility of Zangazur Corridor - whether it goes through Armenia and Iran or just Iran - is all the greater, Damjan Krnjevic, former senior adviser to the president of Serbia, director for policy research and analysis at ADA University’s Institute for Development and Diplomacy, told Report.

“What is important to add is that this is not the only route: there is the one that goes through Georgia, too. There is the highway, and of course there is the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which now in the process of being extended into Nakhchivan,” Krnjevic, who also holds an academic appointment as a Professor of Practice at ADA University, noted.

“All these options - all these routes - come together at Alat, at the Port of Baku. From there, the route extends across the Caspian and into Central Asia and eventually into China.

As for the economic benefits, it is sufficient to say that the route we are talking about is the most direct connection between the West and Türkiye, on the one hand, and Central Asia and China, on the other hand,” the expert added.

The ADA professor also spoke about the role of the Middle Corridor: “For well-known reasons, the Middle Corridor is gaining in strategic importance. And the Middle Corridor can’t work without Azerbaijan, which makes Azerbaijan an indispensable country for everyone - absolutely everyone - who has an interest in the success of the Middle Corridor.

The Central Asian states clearly see this, which is one of the reasons President [Ilham] Aliyev was invited as an “honored guest” to attend the recent Summit in Dushanbe. This is only the beginning, I think.”