Turkmenbash Port connects Central Asia with Europe: a new trade route in operation
The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) offers promising prospects for the Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan–Turkmenistan–Azerbaijan–EU transport route, stated Beknazar Bazaralyyev, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications of Kyrgyzstan, as reported by Kyrgyz media. According to the Deputy Minister, this route is currently fully operational, with Kyrgyz freight carriers already utilizing it for delivering goods to Europe.
This route enables the transportation of goods from Kyrgyzstan to Turkmenistan, to the Turkmenbashy Port, and subsequently across the Caspian Sea to the “Alat” Port (Azerbaijan) for further transit to Europe or to Astrakhan (Russia).
The Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan–Turkmenistan–Azerbaijan–EU corridor is part of the “Belt and Road” Initiative (BRI) promoted by countries of the Eurasian region. The BRI aims to consolidate the transport and logistics capabilities of Eurasian states into a unified, seamless route, facilitating the unimpeded delivery of goods from Asia westward. The initiative encompasses a number of regional transport and logistics routes and corridors, one of which is the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, Middle Corridor).
Experts have repeatedly noted that the mutual integration of the TITR and the INSTC can benefit both shippers, who will gain greater logistical opportunities, and the transit potential of the Eurasian region.
ORIENT
