Kazakhstan ratifies agreement with China to develop Trans-Caspian Int'l Transport Route

ASTANA. July 1 (Interfax) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed into law a bill ratifying an agreement between the Kazakh and Chinese governments on developing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), the presidential press service said.

The agreement is aimed at ensuring the efficient use of road, rail and sea transport and at creating favorable conditions for the transportation of goods. It will also help develop logistics centers in the two countries to attract additional transit volumes on this route.

Cargo traffic along the TITR doubled in 2022, and increased by a further 65% in 2023 to 2.7 million tonnes.

MP Andrei Lukin said at a Senate meeting earlier that the delivery time for goods in transit from Asia to Europe has now been reduced to 18 days, of which six days are in the territory of Kazakhstan. This is twice as fast as last year.

The agreement paves the way for further advancing trade and economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and China and will help increase the volume of cargo transportation between the two countries.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, is an international transport corridor that runs through China, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and further to Turkey and European countries. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is part of the corridor.