Azerbaijan’s transit potential presented in Beijing

By Azernews

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan`s transit and transport potential was presented at the Trans-Caspian East-West Trade & Transit Corridor Forum in Beijing on February 28.

Initiated by the Azerbaijani Embassy in China, the forum aimed to introduce Trans-Caspian international transport route to Chinese business leaders and companies, Azertac reported.

Luo Wei Dong, Head of Europe and Central Asia Department of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, addressing the event, said his country attaches great importance to cooperation with the Silk Road countries, including Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani charge d'affaires in China Metin Mirza noted the importance of energy and transport projects, which were initiated by Azerbaijan, in terms of the development of regional cooperation.

 He recalled President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to China in December 2015, adding that this official visit opened a new page in the history of Azerbaijani-Chinese relations.

Members of Azerbaijani delegation including Elchin Ahmadov (Coordinating Council of Azerbaijan on Transit Freight), Tariyel Mirzayev (Azerbaijan State Caspian Sea Shipping Company), Tural Aliyev (Baku International Sea Trade Port), Natig Jafarov (Azerbaijan railways), Farid Valiyev (State Customs Committee), Fuad Ahmadov (SOCAR) and Zaur Mammadov (Sumgayit Perochemical Park) highlighted the country’s transport, transit and logistic potential, investment and business climate in the country, as well as regional energy and transport projects implemented under Azerbaijan`s leadership.

The Trans-Caspian East-West Trade and Transit Corridor Forum will allow the international businesses to explore vast potential of the region, while serving as an effective platform for the regional countries to present their capacities as a single and integrated market.

The forum featured a film on Trans-Caspian international transport route. Representatives of the countries on the Silk Road made presentations at the event.

The Trans-Caspian international transport route, which is designed to provide transport connections between the East and West of Eurasia, runs through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and then to Europe via Turkey and Ukraine. The route was launched with the establishment of its Coordinating Committee in October 2013. The first test container train from China arrived at the Baku International Sea Trade Port on August 3, 2015.

In January, 2016, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Ukraine decided to apply the competitive feed-in tariffs for cargo transportation via the TITR. Single competitive rate was introduced in the framework of the route starting from June 1, 2016 with the view to reduce the costs of international cargo transportation.

About 300,000-400,000 containers are expected to be transported via the Trans-Caspian international transport route by 2020, bringing huge financial profits to Azerbaijan. Growing interest in the transport infrastructures passing through Azerbaijan's territory is expected to make the country a major transport hub in the region.