Expansion of transit and transport cooperation in Asia strategically important - Tokayev

ASTANA. March 28 (Interfax) - It is important that Asian countries expand transit and transport cooperation, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.

"It is extremely important to increase our efforts to develop both existing and new transport routes. These include the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, or the so-called Middle Corridor, which is highly effective in ensuring the reliability of supply chains between Asia and Europe," the Kazakh presidential press service quoted Tokayev as saying at a plenary session of the Boao Forum for Asia on Thursday.

"Last year, freight traffic along this route doubled, reaching three million tonnes. We expect that the figure will grow to 10 million tonnes in coming years. At the same time, Kazakhstan is ready to cooperate with its neighbors in developing the North-South corridor," he said.

It is also important to strengthen technological cooperation, especially in the field of artificial intelligence, in order to ensure sustainable growth of the global economy, he said, adding that in this context, he supported the Global AI Governance Initiative launched by China.

Kazakhstan is also interested in cooperation with Asia's leading technology giants on the implementation of joint innovative IT projects, he said.