Nakhchivan is a crossroads that is reclaiming its historical role.

Possessing obvious advantages, Nakhchivan is capable of playing an important role in redistributing international cargo flows. And what is important is that this role is far from new for it.

Nakhchivan found itself at the crossroads of trade routes as early as ancient times. Medieval Arab and Persian sources mention the city as an important point in the region, and historical studies note its position on the trade routes between Iran, the Caucasus, Asia Minor, the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea. Nakhchivan retained its significance as, as we would say today, a logistics hub, as well as a trade and craft center, throughout various historical eras. And today’s idea of restoring its key role stems from historical realities and is not an attempt to artificially “invent” a new function for the region, as some claim. We are talking about returning to Nakhchivan the role it repeatedly fulfilled in the past. Take, for example, Julfa. For centuries, it was one of the important trading hubs; caravans passed through it, linking the markets of Persia with the Caucasus and then with the northern territories. In the early 20th century, the first railway was built here, which later connected Iran with the Soviet Union via Julfa.

Thus, it is possible to trace the evolution of Nakhchivan’s transit opportunities. Once, caravan routes passed through here. In the early 20th century, they were supplemented by a railway. During the Soviet era, Nakhchivan became part of the cross?border railway system. And in the 21st century, the region gets a chance to become a hub of modern international corridors. History continues, but at a technologically new level.

Today, Azerbaijan already has significant transit capabilities and, at the same time, continues to strive to expand and diversify its routes. Nakhchivan is assigned a special role in this regard.

During his visit to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic on Tuesday, President Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to Azerbaijani television. Naturally, issues related to the logistical role of the NAR were discussed. This role is particularly growing today in connection with the idea of the Zangezur corridor and the TRIPP project.

As the head of state said, Azerbaijan is completing the construction of roads and railways to the Armenian border. Work has also begun in the NAR. The railway that already exists in the autonomy is, in principle, in a functional state, except for some sections, and can handle 1.5 million tons of cargo per year. However, Baku has more ambitious plans — it aims to reach a capacity of 15 million tons. This is not an unattainable goal.

President Ilham Aliyev noted that many international organizations and countries are showing interest in the project. One of them is the European Union..

"Representatives of the European Union were sent to Nakhchivan. Here, on the ground, they familiarized themselves with the situation and also want to become participants in this corridor. We, in principle, have no objections. Our position is that Azerbaijan Railways is already completing all the work in the territories located in the main part of Azerbaijan, and there is no need for any foreign participation here. As for the rehabilitation of the Nakhchivan railway, in principle, an international consortium could be created here. “Of course, provided that the controlling stake is owned by the Azerbaijani state, an international consortium can consist of investors, and we are open to this,” said President Ilham Aliyev, adding that Azerbaijan will build the railway even without foreign investors.

It should be recalled that during the latest forum in Davos, European Commissioner for Enlargement Margaritis Schinas stated at a meeting with President Ilham Aliyev that the European Union is ready to support Azerbaijan in restoring the railway in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The EU has also started talking about the possibility of including the Zangezur Corridor in the pan European transport network TEN-T (Trans-European Transport Networks).

In any case, Azerbaijan is not going to waste time waiting for investors, as the head of state also said in an interview.

During the Soviet era, the length of the railways in Nakhchivan was 160 kilometers, and including access tracks, it amounted to 180 kilometers. After the completion of the current project, the length of the tracks in the NAR will be 194 kilometers. The railway is being modernized and rebuilt with the aim of achieving a tenfold increase in cargo transportation. As we have already noted, the current capacity is at the level of 1.5 million tons per year, and the goal is to increase this figure tenfold. To achieve this, a lot needs to be done, including extending the curves, which is necessary for the movement of heavy trains.

The President of Azerbaijan urged potential foreign investors not to waste time and to reach an agreement with us as soon as possible. It should be taken into account that the road through Nakhchivan will be important not only for Azerbaijan but also for a wider region. It will become a branch of both the East-West corridor and the North-South route.

Due to the delay in the construction of the Rasht–Astara road, the route through Julfa has come to be seen as a more realistic option for the North–South International Transport Corridor. In principle, there is nothing new here, because in the past the only connection along this route also ran through Julfa. In the 1970s and 1980s, more than 1.5 million tons of cargo were transported through it per year. For that time, this was a very high figure.

Today, when people talk about the North–South transport corridor, they usually mean the Russia–Azerbaijan–Iran route, i.e., the connection to Astara and the Astara–Rasht project within the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview.

"But after the opening of the Zangezur corridor, a second railway line from Azerbaijan to Iran will be opened. There is a railway from the Zangezur corridor with access to Nakhchivan, and from the Julfa railway station to Iran. That is, this project can be implemented faster." The North–South transport corridor is directed towards the Persian Gulf. From there, it can extend, for example, to Pakistan, which is close to this region. In other words, this will be a very important transport project, with Nakhchivan at its core,” President Ilham Aliyev emphasized.

It should be noted that in the past, Russia and Armenia hindered the growing importance of Nakhchivan. Now, what Azerbaijan is doing has turned out to be extremely important for both of these countries. Since the late 1990s, Armenia has been harping on the topic of building a railway to Iran. The railway was never built, and a few years ago it was removed from the list of the Cabinet of Ministers’ top priorities. Armenia has no railway connection to Iran, but the Zangezur corridor could provide it. And for this, it would only need to build a couple of kilometres of track. The Azerbaijani side would do everything else. The same applies to Russia. By the way, Russian experts have recently started talking about the option of a North-South route via Nakhchivan. 

In the context of the West–East corridor, Nakhchivan is entrusted with an even more ambitious task. We have already mentioned the caravan routes of the past. Connecting Nakhchivan via the Zangezur corridor to the new transport and logistics system will be a return of Nakhchivan to its historical role. The Nakhchivan line will become a southern branch of the Middle Corridor. And Nakhchivan will rightfully appear in this scheme: China–Central Asia–Caspian Sea–Azerbaijan–Nakhchivan–Turkiye–Europe.

In August 2025, Turkiye began construction of the Kars–Igdir–Aralik–Dilucu railway line, which reaches the border with Nakhchivan. The project is designed to handle up to 15 million tons of cargo and 5.5 million passengers per year. After the completion of this project and the Zangezur corridor project, Nakhchivan will be at the center of a unified supply chain, linking the Azerbaijani and Turkish railway systems.

For Azerbaijan, the significance of Nakhchivan extends far beyond the regional economy. It gains an additional land connection with Turkey, expands the geography of the Middle Corridor, and increases the number of alternative transport routes. NAR gets the opportunity to become one of the centers of international trade, which will undoubtedly lead to a change in the logic of how our region is perceived. Azerbaijan has already changed it, but Nakhchivan remains the missing link.

Nakhchivan, President Ilham Aliyev stated in NAR, will become one of the indispensable transport hubs.

“We all know well, and we’ve said it many times, that our country has no access to open seas or oceans. But today, when the implementation of Eurasian transport corridors is being discussed, it’s impossible to ignore us. And Nakhchivan is expected to have the same future, which, of course, will bring us both economic and other benefits,” the Azerbaijani leader said.

They say there’s no such thing as a replacement. But that doesn’t apply to geography. Geography is a given that cannot be ignored.