Azerbaijani Digital Development, Transport Minister: cooperation with Georgia to enhance Middle Corridor logistics route

Rashad Nabiyev, the Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan, on Tuesday emphasised the significance of collaboration with Georgia in enhancing the Middle Corridor, a logistics route connecting Central Asia and China to Europe via the South Caucasus.

Speaking after his meeting with Levan Davitashvili, the Economy Minister of Georgia, Nabiyev acknowledged increasing transportation volumes over the past three years and efforts both countries had made to “ensure customer satisfaction”.

Our countries - Georgia and Azerbaijan - are important players in the development of the Corridor. We experienced an increase of about 25 percent in the number of containers passing through our territories and those of Georgia to third countries. We discussed the future prospects for developing the Corridor”, he said.

Azerbaijan has made significant investments in the development of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. We have successfully reduced the transit time for goods from China to just 12-15 days via Baku and [the western Georgian city of] Kutaisi, compared to about 53 days in the past”, the Minister added.

Nabiyev pointed out the previous year had been “very important” for improving procedures through the Corridor, adding continued cooperation between the two countries was “essential” in making the route “more appealing to customers”.

He also noted a joint venture established last year by Azerbaijani, Georgian and Kazakh railways signalled a collaborative approach to further develop the Corridor.