Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan enhance transport ties

Georgia will play an important transit role connecting China, Turkey and Europe via the Trans-Caspian international transport route, which runs through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and then through Turkey and Ukraine to Europe.

This month national railway companies from Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan signed a memorandum to establish the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) Association, Kazakhstan Railways reported on October 10.

The TITR Association aimed to attract transit and foreign trade cargo to the route and to develop an effective tariff policy. Furthermore the TITR Association would facilitate the reduction of administrative barriers linked with border and customs procedures and processing of cargo and containers in the ports.

The railway authorities of the three countries signed the agreement to create the Trans-Caspian International Transportation Consortium this April in Azerbaijan.

Approximately 300,000-400,000 containers were expected to be transported via the TITR by 2020, bringing financial profits to all the countries on the transport route.

The route was also believed to be the cheapest and most profitable corridor for freight traffic thanks to new competitive tariffs that were introduced for the TITR in June 2016.