A meeting was held in Baku between the Secretary General of the Permanent Secretariat of the TRACECA Intergovernmental Commission Asset Assavbayev and the new National Secretary of TRACECA in Azerbaijan Fariz Aliyev. The main focus was on Azerbaijan’s participation in ongoing TRACECA projects and prospects for cooperation in the development of the Europe-Caucasus-Asia international transport corridor.
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed hope for Germany’s support in connecting the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route to the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and the Global Gateway strategy. He said this at a meeting of the heads of state of Central Asia and Germany.
DHL Express is increasing investment in transport and sorting capacity ahead of the year-end peak season, expecting demand for express services to increase. The company is investing more than €100 million in the fourth quarter to support its customers’ growth, and is also expanding its fleet with eight new Boeing 777 freighters. Global e-commerce is expected to grow by 8.8% in 2024, remaining a key driver of volume, while B2B shipments are gradually recovering.
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took part in a meeting of the heads of Central Asian states with the Federal Chancellor of Germany, where he presented his vision of key areas of cooperation. Tokayev named the development of industrial cooperation and increasing the supply of critical materials to Germany as one of the priorities.
During the visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Central Asia, Rhenus Group CEO Tobias Bartz is stepping up the implementation of two key projects in the region. In Samarkand, an agreement was signed to establish a joint venture with Uztemiryolkonteyner JSC, a subsidiary of Uzbekistan Railways, which will form the basis for the creation of a modern logistics center in Andijan. A declaration of intent was also signed with the Kazakh company Aktau International Sea Trade Port for the development of an intermodal terminal in the port of Aktau.
The recent Kazakh-German Logistics Forum, dedicated to the theme “Kazakhstan – a bridge between Europe and Asia”, brought together representatives of the largest international companies and associations, as well as experts from leading educational institutions in Central Asia and Europe.
Ocean Network Express (ONE), a member of the Premier Alliance, has announced a new partnership with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to swap slots on the Asia-Europe trade. This agreement will cover nine routes, expanding direct port coverage and increasing sailing frequencies on the Asia-Northern Europe and Mediterranean routes.
The La Boella Intermodal Terminal in the Port of Tarragona has demonstrated its capacity to handle up to 50,000 TEU per year. This has become particularly relevant due to the temporary reorientation of cargo flows caused by the infrastructure upgrades at the Port of Barcelona, where the gauge change for the Mediterranean Corridor is ongoing and will last until mid-September.
HMM, Ocean Network Express (ONE) and Yang Ming Marine Transportation have announced the formation of a new alliance called Premier Alliance, which will commence in February 2025 for a period of five years.
The transport ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have signed a joint document calling for maintaining and increasing European funding for strategic transport projects aimed at improving military mobility with Europe. The statement underlines the importance of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) in the next EU multiannual financial framework.
