Təqribi çatma vaxtı
22 Noyabr 09:28:51
On November 25, Baku hosted the meeting of the Founders’ General Assembly of the Eurasian Transport Route International Association.
The meeting held under Azerbaijan’s chairmanship was attended by the leadership of the railway administrations of the Association’s member countries - Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Rovshan Rustamov, Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC (ADY), stated that the legal procedures related to the registration of the Eurasian Transport Route International Association headquartered in Baku, have been completed, and that the Association has been successfully registered in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The Chairman of ADY pointed out that amid growing freight traffic between China and Europe in both directions, diversifying transport routes has become essential. He stressed that enabling the Eurasian Transport Route to function at full capacity is crucial to achieving this.
It was highlighted that the Eurasian Transport Route, regarded as the southern branch of the Middle Corridor, connects China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye. Starting this month, multimodal transportation has commenced from China’s Kashgar city to Azerbaijan, passing through Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
It was noted that the construction of the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China railway will further enhance the role of the Eurasian Transport Route. Moreover, by creating a link between the Middle Corridor and the Trans-Afghan corridor, this route will open new opportunities for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Mr. Rustamov stated that the development of the southern branch of the Middle Corridor will enable Azerbaijan to become a key bridge between Central Asia and Europe and increase transit volumes through the country. He added that this will also allow for the maximum utilization of crucial infrastructure such as the Port of Baku and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, while the Zangezur corridor will further expand these opportunities.
At the event, the necessary measures for the launch of the Association’s activities were discussed. Following the discussions, the items on the agenda - including the corporate structure of the Association, the structure of its Secretariat and working bodies, the planned measures for organizing the Association’s activities, and other related matters were approved.
The meeting also resolved to prepare the charters of the committee for the development of the Eurasian Transport Route and of the special working groups on dispatching, infrastructure development, commercial affairs, digitalization, marketing, communications, and legal matters, as well as to develop detailed marketing plan drafts for 2026 and submit the agreed projects for discussion at the next General Assembly.
It was determined that a number of measures must be implemented to organize the activities of the International Association. These include analyzing the current situation regarding intermodal transportation along the Eurasian Transport Route, identifying and addressing bottlenecks through a diagnostic assessment of the Route, applying IT solutions and digital platforms for transportation management, defining a schedule, resources, and priorities for eliminating restrictions and bottlenecks along the Eurasian Transport Route, and ensuring the further development of the route.
In addition, the importance of establishing partnership relations between the Association and stakeholders across the Eurasian region - including Central European countries, China, and Pakistan - as well as international organizations, was emphasized, along with the need to implement promotional activities to increase the Route’s visibility and strengthen its position in the Eurasian intermodal transport services market.
It should be noted that the Association was established on 20 September 2024 in Baku, with the participation of ADY, Uzbekistan Railways, the Kyrgyz Railway National Company, and Tajikistan Railways. The purpose of establishing the Association is to attract transit cargo, develop integrated logistics products, create unified technology for transport processes, implement an efficient tariff policy, and optimize costs.
Azerbaijan’s chairmanship of the Association strengthens ADY’s position as one of the key operators in the region and transforms Azerbaijan into a strategic dispatching center where the main decisions on transit operations along the entire southern branch of the Middle Corridor are made. This enables the company to influence the shaping of tariff policy, the standardization of logistics procedures, and the development of digital platforms for the coordination of transportation, while also creating favorable conditions for attracting international investment into railway projects.
