Azerbaijan's FM talks on prospects of country's trans-regional transport projects

By Trend

Azerbaijan, as a leading and dynamic economy of the region, is playing a significant role in “One Belt One Road” initiative, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at the 14th Summit of the Pacific Alliance, Trend reports referring to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

"Azerbaijan is also actively engaged in the further development of the North-South transportation corridor that will enable transit of cargo from the Persian Gulf via Iran and Russia to Europe. Another corridor promoted by Azerbaijan is the South-West international transport route, whose purpose is to bridge India, Iran, Persian Gulf countries with Turkey and Europe. The potential for these trade corridors are immense," the minister said.

"Among the above mentioned projects contributing to the increased connectivity is the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway which will link trans-Europe and trans-Asian railway networks and will significantly contribute to a reliable and integrated railway connection between Europe and Asia."

"Azerbaijan is also maintaining the largest commercial fleet in the Caspian Sea. A new shipyard completed at the Caspian port of Baku allows for the production of all types of vessels and will increase freight traffic in the Caspian Sea," Mammadyarov said. "Furthermore, we have put a lot of efforts in providing a favorable investment regime for foreign companies in trade-logistics sector through creating a Free Economic Zone around the new Baku Port situated at the heart of the East-West route. The objective of this Free Economic Zone is to increase the attractiveness of Azerbaijan as a regional trade-logistics hub."

"All these projects where my country is participating both as critical en-route point and active investor will allow to substantively minimize time and costs for delivery of goods and services from a wide range of Asian markets to the Middle East, CIS countries and Europe and vise-versa. I believe that this might constitute a good working ground for upscaling the Pacific Alliance – Azerbaijan cooperation both on a multilateral and bilateral basis," the Azerbaijani minister added.