Middle Corridor countries engage with European partners to attract West-East cargo, official says

States located along the Middle Corridor have begun intensive engagement with European partners to build a systematic approach for attracting a cargo base in the West-to-East direction, Advisor to the Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC (ADY) Emil Mammadov said during the fifth Black and Caspian Freight Forum 2026 in Baku, Report informs.

According to the advisor, previously, the Middle Corridor was promoted primarily among its direct participants: profile events were organized in China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and, at best, in Türkiye.

"Virtually no one entered the European market with the Middle Corridor agenda, as the route was experiencing its natural stage of formation. Now we have moved on to active interaction with European partners to build systematic work on attracting the cargo base in the West-East direction. We are confident that European business has more trust in concepts promoted by local operators. Therefore, our goal is to build a mutually beneficial partnership that is of interest to both sides," Mammadov emphasized.

The full list of potential export goods from Europe will be determined later, he noted.

Mammadov clarified that the category of attracted cargo is determined by the specifics of export flows.

"We are talking about finished products with high added value produced in Europe, in particular, products of the automotive industry and components. The full list will be formed later, as it is directly determined by the conditions that the corridor will be able to offer to shippers. The time factor and compliance with the service level agreement play a defining role here. We are obliged to ensure certain service standards so that shippers of goods sensitive to delivery times and costs feel as confident as possible. This is a large-scale and multifaceted task. We expect that the first tangible results will appear already from 2027, and we will begin to systematically increase transportation volumes in the West-East direction," the advisor stated.