Middle Corridor trade to triple by 2030

Targeted investments and efficiency measures could triple trade turnover along the Middle Corridor and halve transit times by 2030, Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov said at the CAMCA Regional Forum in Baku. He noted that the regional peace process and the Zangezur corridor (TRIP route) are transforming connectivity from an aspiration into bankable, financed projects.

According to him, modern corridors encompass not only freight transit, but energy and digital data flows as well.

"Following the Southern Gas Corridor, the Black Sea submarine cable, the Caspian Green Energy Corridor, and the Azerbaijan–Kazakhstan Trans-Caspian fiber-optic cable—due to be commissioned in less than a month—complete this interconnected chain. Against the backdrop of Azerbaijan becoming a full participant in the Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia, the objective is to raise regional trade to $20 billion and establish joint production under the 'Made in Central Asia' label," the minister said.

Joint investment funds established with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan—in each of which Azerbaijan holds at least a 50% equity stake—are shaping an integrated economic space.

Jabbarov noted that the 2nd Azerbaijan International Investment Forum in Baku yielded 23 agreements valued at $10.8 billion, drawing institutional investment giants managing $30 trillion in assets, including BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), and Brookfield Asset Management.

Public-private partnerships across Karabakh and East Zangezur, the 2025–2028 National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, and human capital development have been designated as strategic priorities.

By the end of 2025, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the countries of the region expanded 53% year-on-year to reach approximately $1.8 billion. To deepen economic integration, Baku has to date established bilateral investment funds with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan with combined charter capital totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

Simultaneously, Azerbaijan's accession as a full partner during the Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia held in Tashkent in November 2025 elevated Baku's pivotal role in regional security, transport, and energy corridors to an institutional level.

Measures aimed at boosting the throughput capacity of the Middle Corridor—stretching across China, Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, and the South Caucasus to Europe—alongside expanding the handling capacity of the Baku International Sea Trade Port to 25 million tonnes, serve as the primary infrastructural backbone underpinning the targeted $20 billion trade goal.

Aytaj Zeynalova