Azerbaijan, Estonia discuss railway cooperation

On November 24, Rovshan Rustamov, Chairman of "Azerbaijan Railways" CJSC (ADY - part of the “AZCON Holding”) met with Director-General of Estonian Railways (“AS Eesti Raudtee”), Kaido Zimmermann.

The parties expressed satisfaction with the sustainable development of mutual cooperation and discussed opportunities for closer collaboration aimed at increasing the flow of cargo from China to Europe along international corridors traversing Azerbaijan.

Rovshan Rustamov noted that Estonia’s experience in digital solutions and smart logistics in the railway sector could facilitate joint initiatives, and that Azerbaijan’s strategic position on the Middle Corridor ensures effective access to Central Asia and China for Estonia, as well as for the Baltic region more broadly. 

It was noted that in recent periods, Azerbaijan has been extensively supporting the development of the Middle Corridor. Thus, the cargo capacity of the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway has been increased to 5 million tons per year, multimodal freight transport has accelerated with the integration of the Port of Baku into ADY, and a joint venture has been established within the framework of cooperation with Georgia and Kazakhstan to develop this corridor.

Kaido Zimmermann lauded these efforts by Azerbaijan and expressed the interest of Estonian Railways in expanding cooperation with ADY. 

The parties expressed confidence that broader cooperation would strengthen transport connectivity at the regional level and contribute to a modern, efficient, and sustainable transport system linking Europe and Asia.