TODAY.AZ / Business

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey discuss development of Silk Road

19 July 2017 [14:52] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews


By Sara Israfilbayova

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are doing a significant work for the development of the Silk Road.

Chairman of the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan Aydin Aliyev made the remarks during the trilateral meeting of Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey on July 19, Trend reported.

Aydin Aliyev stressed that the three countries pay special attention and carry out large-scale work in the spheres of increasing freight traffic and ensuring energy security in the region.

The meeting is attended by First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Georgia Dimitry Kumsishvili, Minister of Customs and Trade of Turkey Bulent Tufenkci, representatives of the border agencies of the three countries, embassies and other participants.

Within the framework of the meeting it is planned to sign a joint declaration on expanding trilateral cooperation in customs matters between countries, as well as an agreement between Turkey and Azerbaijan on creating an electronic information exchange system on transit transport by road.

The new Silk Road project, which involves over 60 countries with a population of 4.5 billion people, runs through an area of 40 million square meters.

Turkey, which is located at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, is one of the leading countries participating in the Silk Road and the corridor of the Silk Road will connect Europe with Central Asia through Turkish Anatolia and will be brought to China.

Currently, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are working on the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway, which is an important part of the historical Silk Road.

The BTK railway is being constructed on the basis of the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey intergovernmental agreement. The main purpose of the project is to improve economic relations between the three countries and gain foreign direct investment by connecting Europe and Asia.

Implementation of the project began in 2007, while the construction work was launched in 2008.

The line is intended to transport one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of freight at the first stage. This capacity will then reach 3 million passengers and 17 million tons of cargo. 

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey amounted to almost $1.2 billion in the first half of 2017, while it was $270.35 million between Azerbaijan and Georgia, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/business/163335.html

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