Türkiye, in line with its geographical location between continents and regions, supports the development of regional transportation projects.
In this regard, Türkiye aims to sustain not only commercial, economic and investment relations but also political and cultural relations between and beyond its surrounding regions.
A. “Trans-Caspian East-West-Middle Corridor Initiative”
The Trans-Caspian East-West-Middle Corridor (Middle Corridor) is one of the most important components of the project to revitalize the ancient Silk Road. It starts from China and extends to Central Asia via rail and road connections, then to Türkiye through Kazakhstan/Turkmenistan route, using the Trans-Caspian Sea route, followed by Azerbaijan and Georgia, and then to Europe via Türkiye.
In this context, the ports of Baku/Alat (in Azerbaijan), Aktau/Kuryk (in Kazakhstan) and Turkmenbashi (in Turkmenistan) are used for multimodal transportation on the Caspian Transit.
With 96% of the approximately 10 million containers moving from China to Europe in a year being shipped by sea, the Middle Corridor is an important alternative transportation route, especially for landlocked countries.
As a trade route between Europe and Asia, the Middle Corridor is faster, more economical, safer, 2,000 km shorter and more favorable in terms of climatic conditions than the Northern Corridor, reducing the transportation time between China and Europe to 18 days. The Middle Corridor also offers important opportunities for Asian freight traffic to reach the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean region thanks to Türkiye's port connections.
With the inaguration of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) Railway on October 30, 2017, an important component of the Middle Corridor was completed. The BTK Railway, which is expected to carry 1 million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo per year initially, and 3 million passengers and 17 million tons of cargo in 2034, offers a new perspective for uninterrupted transportation and trade between China and Europe.
The “Caravansarai Project” for inter-customs cooperation in the context of the “Middle Corridor” connecting Türkiye to China via Central Asia, as well as the “Marmaray” connecting Asia and Europe which opened on October 29, 2013, the “Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge”(August 26, 2016), “Eurasia Tunnel” (December 20, 2016), Istanbul Airport (October 29, 2018), 1915 Çanakkale Bridge which became operational on March 8, 2022, are among the completed projects, while work on the “Three Level Tube Tunnel”, “Construction of Filyos (Zonguldak), Çandarlı (İzmir) and Mersin Ports” and the “Edirne - Kars High Speed Train and Connections Railway Project”, which will connect Asia and Europe, are still ongoing.
The effective and full capacity utilization of the Middle Corridor route is among Türkiye's priority policy issues. The use of BTK in a way that reflects its potential will provide serious economic opportunities for the countries in the region from the East-West trade. In addition, the establishment of logistics centers and free trade areas in the ports on the Middle Corridor route will contribute to the development and deepening of Trans-Caspian cooperation.
The “Global Transport Connectivity Forum”, which plays an important role in promoting the connectivity initiatives that Türkiye is a stakeholder, especially the Middle Corridor, explaining the benefits of these initiatives and projects to the countries in Türkiye’s region and beyond, and promoting the great potential of Türkiye in the field of connectivity, was organized by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Türkiye with the support of the World Bank on 27-29 June 2025 in Istanbul with the theme “Seamless Connectivity, Limitless Possibilities”.
Within the scope of the Forum, 24 panels were organized, 12 Memoranda of Understanding were signed, many high-level bilateral meetings were held and an exhibition area was established with the participation of 40 companies.
The Forum was attended by 37 Ministers, 16 Deputy Ministers, 30 representatives of international organizations and more than 3500 participants from 80 countries.
Under the umbrella of the Organization of Turkic States, the “Agreement on International Combined Freight Transport” between the member countries was signed in Samarkand on 11 November 2022. In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Baku, Aktau and Samsun Ports establishing a Sister-Port relationship.
The Türkiye-Georgia-Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan-Afghanistan transit transport corridor (Lapis Lazuli), which constitutes one of the Middle Corridor passages, is a concrete result of our efforts to develop regional integration and connectivity, diversify and grow the economy, and establish regional stability and prosperity.
The Agreement on the “Lapis Lazuli” corridor was signed within the margins of the “Ministerial Conference of the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan” (RECCA) held in Ashgabat on 14-15 November 2017.
Lastly, a meeting of experts was held on October 2, 2024 and a Ministerial Meeting was held on October 3, 2024 in Istanbul, hosted by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Türkiye. The meeting focused on technical arrangements for the Lapis Lazuli route, simplification of customs procedures between the participating countries, safe passage, emphasis on rail transportation and future steps to be taken.
B. “The Belt and Road Initiative”
The Middle Corridor initiative, envisaging the revival of the ancient Silk Road, creates a natural synergy with the Belt and Road Initiative of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which aims at developing connectivity between East and West. In this framework, Türkiye supports the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on the basis of “win-win” principle.
In that sense, the "Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Türkiye and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Harmonization of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and the Middle Corridor Initiative" was signed in Antalya on 14 November 2015 on the occasion of the G20 Leaders Summit. In this framework, the first working group meeting with the PRC was held in Beijing on November 6, 2024.
Within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, Trans-Caspian China Railway Express Chang’an Train, the first freight train reaching Türkiye (6 November 2019, in Ankara), completed its journey from Xi’an, China to Prague, Czechia in 18 days, by using the Middle Corridor and Türkiye’s transport infrastructure, including BTK railway and the Marmaray.
The number of the similar freight train services is expected to increase in the future.
C. “Development Road Project”
In terms of diversifying routes, the Development Road Project envisages connecting the Al-Fav Port, currently under construction in Basra, to Türkiye with a two-way highway and railway of approximately 1,200 km in length, and transporting goods from the Gulf countries and Asia to Europe.
Harmonization of the Middle Corridor with the PRC's Belt and Road Initiative and synergy with the Development Road Project will connect a wider geography.
D. “Three Seas Initiative”
The Three Seas Initiative was established in 2015 on the initiative of then Polish President Andrzej Duda and Croatian President Grabar-Kitarovic and aims to strengthen the infrastructures of Central and Eastern European countries in the Baltic Sea, Adriatic Sea and Black Sea region with outdated and inadequate energy, digital and physical transport infrastructure.
The participation of Türkiye as a “Strategic Partner” in the “Three Seas Initiative”, where only EU countries can be “Participating Members”, was unanimously accepted at the Summit held in Warsaw on 29 April 2025. The members of the Three Seas Initiative are Austria, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Greece.
E. Regional Organizations
By taking part in regional organizations, Türkiye makes a significant contribution to the efforts to improve connectivity.
In this framework, the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA), of which Türkiye is a member and headquartered in Baku, is an intergovernmental program aiming to improve existing international transport links in Europe, the Black Sea, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Its foundation was laid at a conference in Brussels in 1993.
Its members are Türkiye, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The Intergovernmental Agreement on the “International North-South Transport Corridor” (INSTC), another regional organization, was signed in St. Petersburg on September 12, 2000 by the Russian Federation, Iran, India and Oman.
In the context of the INSTC, three branches are envisaged: The Western branch through Azerbaijan, the Central branch through the Caspian Sea ports of Russia and Iran, and the Eastern branch through Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. However, due to the existing infrastructure, industry and population density, the Western branch stands out and is used more intensively in transportation.
The INSTC Coordination Council includes Türkiye, India, Iran, the Russian Federation, Oman, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, Syria and Bulgaria (observer country).