Azerbaijan Deepens Middle Corridor Ties with Central Asian Partners

Deputy Uzbek Trade Minister Khurram Teshabayev confirmed that Tashkent and Baku are finalizing plans for a joint trans-Caspian cargo fleet. This initiative aims to streamline transit procedures and lower costs for exporters, supported by the development of a logistics hub near the Port of Baku. The facility will connect directly to Azerbaijan’s rail network to expedite the movement of goods toward the West.

Parallel to these maritime developments, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are moving to digitize cross-border logistics. Starting in 2027, a new digital permit system for road transport will replace existing paper-based protocols to reduce transit delays. These efforts align with a broader bilateral goal to reach $1 billion in annual trade turnover by 2030.

Despite the momentum in logistics, energy cooperation faces significant hurdles. While officials previously envisioned exporting 5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy via a trans-Caspian cable by 2030, domestic electricity deficits in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan threaten those targets. Teshabayev acknowledged that Uzbekistan’s actual export capacity may struggle to exceed 2 GW, as both nations prioritize meeting their own industrial power demands before committing to large-scale cross-continental energy exports.