Kazakhstan interested in participating in "Trump Road" project - Tokayev

ASTANA. Nov 21 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan is interested in participating in the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) or "Trump Road" project, which will connect the main part of Azerbaijan with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR, an exclave of Azerbaijan) via Armenian territory.

"The new geopolitical situation in the South Caucasus creates favorable conditions for enhancing bilateral and interregional contacts. Kazakhstan supports Armenia's Crossroads of Peace initiative in the transport and transit sphere. We also confirm our interest in participating in the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity project," Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at a briefing following talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The integration of this strategic corridor with the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) and the North-South corridor meets the interests of both countries, Tokayev said.

The plan to connect the TITR with TRIPP is outlined in the statement of intent on economic cooperation between the governments of Central Asian countries and the United States. In particular, the governments of the U.S. and Central Asian countries agreed to strengthen interconnectivity and the resilience of supply chains through the full realization of the potential of the Trans-Caspian trade route and its connection to TRIPP for the safe movement of goods, information, and energy in the interests of the countries of the region and the global community.

The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity is a 42 km transit corridor between Azerbaijan and its NAR exclave via Armenian territory. On August 8, in Washington, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, U.S. President Donald Trump and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a declaration stating that Armenia will work with the U.S. and jointly with some third parties to develop the framework for the TRIPP transport connectivity project on Armenian territory. The implementation of the TRIPP project involves the construction of road, railway, and oil and gas infrastructure.