From TMTM to the Zangezur Corridor, all roads lead through Azerbaijan

Speaking about the investment attractiveness of our country during the Azerbaijan Investment Prospects Forum, held within the framework of the Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank in Baku, Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov named three main areas. These are transport connectivity, green energy and the digital sphere.

Without detracting from the importance of the other two areas, we note that the issue of transport connectivity goes beyond national interests and is currently one of the main ones. With the disruption of traditional logistics routes caused by geopolitical perturbations, the importance of Azerbaijan and, through it, the South Caucasus as a whole has increased significantly. Our country has already established its irreplaceable role as a link between the West and the East, has become a key link in the Middle Corridor and continues to contribute to the expansion of connectivity by drawing partners in Central Asia into a single chain. Thanks to Baku's initiative, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route was added to the Middle Corridor, and this name is now accepted as the main one.

The development of the TMTM (Middle Corridor) is attracting increasing attention from the West. International financial institutions are joining the project. A few days ago, it became known that the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a member of the World Bank Group, had signed a loan agreement with Georgia on a project to improve the country's transport infrastructure as part of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.

After the completion of the modernization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars corridor, additional opportunities have opened up to increase cargo turnover. After completion of the modernization work, the BTK's capacity increased from 1 million to 5 million tons per year, which significantly increased the role of the Middle Corridor in international cargo transportation.

One of the important elements of transport connectivity is the Zangezur Corridor project, also called TRIPP. More precisely, TRIPP is a project that is part of the Zangezur Corridor, which in turn will become a branch of the Middle Corridor and will connect the West and East not through Georgia, but through Armenia. The creation of a new route will further strengthen Azerbaijan's role as a logistics hub. Because no matter how the Middle Corridor branches, all roads lead through Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is very determined on the issue of the Zangezur corridor.

Speaking at the opening of the Baku Energy Week, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the Zangezur corridor will definitely be built. In his address to the participants of the international conference in Shusha, the head of state stressed that Azerbaijan pursues a resolute policy aimed at establishing and maintaining lasting peace and stability in the region. And the Zangezur Corridor, implemented in this context, will become one of the main segments of the Middle Corridor.

The TRIPP topic has become a mandatory item on the agenda at all meetings in the Azerbaijan-USA and Armenia-USA formats. The TRIPP project, which is part of the Zangezur Corridor, was also discussed at a recent meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.

The positive fact is that Armenia has also become one of the active campaigners for the project. They prefer not to call the road the Zangezur Corridor, but that doesn't change the point. During the election campaign, Nikol Pashinyan repeatedly drew voters' attention to TRIPP as an initiative aimed at creating new opportunities for trade and transit, from which all countries involved in regional communications can benefit.

Armenia is not yet included in regional communications, and it needs the Zangezur corridor especially.

The other day, the chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (HDP) of Turkey, Devlet Bahceli, touched upon the topic of corridors at a meeting of the party's parliamentary faction and noted that if Armenia, acting wisely, joins the platform of regional cooperation, the Zangezur corridor may become an opportunity for it to break out of economic isolation.

By the way, the completion of the modernization of the Georgian section of the BTK has also provided opportunities for Armenia. Baku-Tbilisi-Kars is, by and large, an Azerbaijani project implemented with Azerbaijani funds. And the fact that, unlike in previous years, Baku did not oppose the use of the Akhalkalaki-Kars road by Armenia this time once again demonstrates to the Armenian side the tremendous benefits of peace and stability.

In connection with the processes between the United States and Iran, opinions began to appear about the impracticability of TRIPP, as the project allegedly contradicts the agreements reached and undermines security issues in the region. This means that in the new geopolitical conditions, the United States will not get involved in the project, which can be regarded as a violation of agreements with Iran.

Only the authors of these narratives know how the transport corridor can undermine security in the region. The authors are the Armenian opposition and Iranian circles, as well as, to a certain extent, the Russian side, which wants to control the corridor through Meghri itself. In recent days, Armenian sources have reported that in the south of Armenia, the Russian military is stopping vehicles traveling to Meghri and checking for passes. Representatives of European countries are particularly affected.

It is not known how much of this information corresponds to reality.

As for the control, who says it has to be external? TMTM operates, remaining only under the control of the participating countries of the project - Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. Only these countries make decisions here. The Zangezur corridor (we are not only talking about the Armenian section of the road) can also remain under the control of the participating countries - Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey, and no neighbors have the right to dictate the rules to them. So even if, due to new relations with Iran, the United States suddenly abandons the project (which is unlikely), the countries of the region can build the road themselves. Azerbaijan has almost completed its work in East Zangezur and continues in Nakhchivan. Turkey is currently building its own section of the corridor. And the Armenian section is the shortest and easiest to execute, as it will be laid along the route that existed before the conflict. There are only 40 kilometers of tracks.

Those who are trying to link the agreements between the United States and Iran with the fate of the project on the territory of third countries should not forget that Azerbaijan is interested in the road through Meghri. And if the President of the country says that the Zangezur corridor will definitely be built, it means that there will be a road, regardless of the games started around this essentially ordinary road project.

Logistics will confirm that there are never too many roads.