A consultative meeting of heads of railway administrations dedicated to the creation of the International Association “Eurasian Transport Route” (ETR) was held in Baku. It was attended by representatives of railway departments of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China and Austria. The main topic of discussion was the creation of the structure of the new organization, working groups, as well as issues of route digitalization, commerce and logistics.
Chairman of the Azerbaijan Railways Rovshan Rustamov noted that against the background of the growth of freight traffic between China and Europe, there is a need to create new infrastructure projects and diversify routes. In particular, he emphasized the importance of developing the Middle Corridor, which runs through Asia and the Caspian Sea, connecting China with Turkey via Azerbaijan and Georgia.
According to Rustamov, work is underway on the construction of a new Baku-Nakhchivan-Kars railway line on the western coast of the Caspian Sea. On the east coast, through Kyrgyzstan to the Uzbek city of Andijan, the construction of a new railway section China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan is already planned, which will create additional opportunities for the countries of Central Asia.
The Chairman of the Uzbekistan Railways Zufar Narzullaev supported the initiative to create ETR and noted the growing interest of European countries in the markets of Central Asia. The heads of the railways of Turkey, China, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan also expressed interest in developing the route, emphasizing the importance of increasing freight traffic along the Middle Corridor.
At the end of the meeting, the constituent documents and the plan for the further development of the association were discussed.