Türkiye, in line with her 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 her surrounding regions.
A. Trans-Caspian East-West-Middle Corridor Initiative
Trans-Caspian East-West-Middle Corridor Initiative shortly named as “The
Middle Corridor”, which begins in Türkiye and passes through the Caucasus
region via Georgia, Azerbaijan, crosses the Caspian Sea, traverses Central
Asia and reaches China, is one of the most important component of the
efforts to revive the ancient Silk Road. It passes by rail and road
respectively through Georgia, Azerbaijan and Caspian Sea, (crossing the
Caspian transit corridor) and reaches China by following
Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan or Kazakhstan route. On this route,
ports of Baku/Alat (in Azerbaijan), Aktau/Kuryk (in Kazakhstan) and
Turkmenbashi (in Turkmenistan) are the main points of multimodal transport
on Caspian transit corridor. Moreover, the Middle Corridor gets attraction
of the regional countries, especially the landlocked ones.
In one year, out of approximately 10 million containers that
are transported from China to Europe, 96 % utilizes the sea and only the
remaining 4 % uses the Trans-Siberian Railway, which is also called the
Northern Corridor. The Middle Corridor is more economical and faster
compared to the Northern Corridor as a trade route between Europe and Asia
and as such, is 2.000 km shorter, has more favorable climate conditions and
shortens the travel time by 1/3rd (15 days) compared to the sea
route. Furthermore, the Middle Corridor offers great opportunities for the
cargo traffic in Asia so that the loads can reach Middle East, North Africa
and Mediterranean region by benefiting from the port connections in Türkiye.
If the Middle Corridor is used effectively, important economic
opportunities will arise for the Central Asian countries to benefit from
the trade between China and Europe, estimated to be worth 600 billion USD
annually. In particular, establishment of logistical centers and free trade
zones at the ports of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan will
facilitate the development and deepening of Trans-Caspian cooperation.
As part of the cooperation that is undertaken within the context of the
Middle Corridor, a “Common Cooperation Protocol” was signed by the
Ministers of Transport of the members of the Turkic Council. Furthermore, a
Coordination Council was initiated at the level of Deputy Minister to
provide practical solutions for problems that may arise between these
countries in the field of transportation. A Memorandum of Understanding was
also signed for the purpose of establishing a Sister-Port Relationship
between the ports of Baku, Aktau and Samsun. Negotiations are underway
within the framework of the Turkic Council for the signing of an “Agreement
on International Combined Freight Transportation”.
Another important effort to strengthen Trans-Caspian transport route
alternatives was the signing of an agreement between Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan
and Georgia on 7 November 2013, titled “the Establishment of a Coordination
Committee for the Development of Trans-Caspian International Transportation
Route”. Within the framework of the said Agreement, to which China
subsequently became a party, the first pilot shipment took place on 28 July
2015. A container train, which originated from Western China (“the Nomad
Express”) reached Baku through Aktau and the Caspian Sea in 6 days.
Another important component of the Middle Corridor was completed when the
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) Railway was inaugurated on 30 October 2017. The BTK
offers a new perspective for the uninterrupted trade between China and
Europe and has an initial capacity of 1 million passengers and 6.5 million
tons of cargo, which is foreseen to be increased to 3 million passengers
and 17 million tons of cargo per year by 2034.
The “Türkiye-Georgia-Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan-Afghanistan Transit Corridor
Agreement”, also known as the “Lapis Lazuli Agreement”, is important for
landlocked Afghanistan to have a route to the Black
Sea/Mediterranean, and is a concrete result of our efforts for the
development of regional integration and connectivity, for the
diversification of regional economies and for strengthening of the regional
stability and prosperity. The Lapis Lazuli Agreement was signed within the
margins of the Ministerial Conference of the Regional Economic Cooperation
Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA) that took place on 14-15 November 2017 in
Ashgabat.
Furthermore, Türkiye is undertaking various projects to revive the
historical Silk Road. In addition to the “Caravansarai Project” that aims
cooperation between customs authorities in the region within the framework
of the Middle Corridor, major infrastructure initiatives connecting Europe
with Asia was completed such as the “Marmaray” undersea
railway, the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge in İstanbul which
was inaugurated on 26 August 2016, the Eurasia Tunnel that was inaugurated on 20 December 2016
and the İstanbul Airport that was inaugurated on 29 October 2018. In that
regard, the Three-Level Tube Tunnel Project inİstanbul,Çanakkale Strait Bridge project,Edirne-Kars High Speed Rail project, Gebze-Orhangazi-İzmir Motorway,Northern Marmara Motorway project and the construction of Filyos, Çandarlı and Mersin ports are major examples of
further ongoing national projects that will also enhance regional
interconnectivity.
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, 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, a “Memorandum of Understanding on Aligning the Belt and Road
Initiative and the Middle Corridor Initiative” was signed between Türkiye
and China in November 2015 during the G-20 Leaders Summit in Antalya.
Within the framework of the BRI, 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, Czech
Republic 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.