A trilateral meeting was held in Baku between Rövşən Rüstəmov, Chairman of “Azerbaijan Railways” CJSC (a company under AZCON Holding), Laša Abashidze, General Director of “Georgian Railway” JSC, and Talgat Aldybergenov, Chairman of the Management Board of “Kazakhstan Railways” National Company JSC.

Axar.az reports that the meeting focused on the 7-month performance review of the joint venture “Middle Corridor Multimodal Ltd,” established to foster effective cooperation among the railway institutions of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Georgia for the development of the Middle Corridor.

The parties emphasized the need to enhance the capacity of the Middle Corridor and to expand the digitalization of services along the route.

It was especially noted that freight transportation between China and Azerbaijan via the Middle Corridor has shown growth recently. In 2024, 287 block trains arrived from China. In just the first 7 months of this year, 225 block trains have already been received—nearly double the number compared to the same period last year. Over 400 block trains are expected by year’s end. In the first 7 months alone, a total of 24,000 TEU of cargo was transported by block train—approximately twice as much as in the same period last year.

The meeting also included a discussion on China’s “China Railway Container Transport Corp. Ltd.” (CRCT) joining the “Middle Corridor Multimodal Ltd.” joint venture, and the significance of this move for the development of the Middle Corridor and East-West-East freight transport.

In conclusion, the CRCT’s participation in the joint venture was unanimously approved, and a corresponding protocol was signed.

It was stated that the cooperation among Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Georgia within the joint venture “Middle Corridor Multimodal Ltd.” aims to ensure uninterrupted, reliable, and efficient cargo operations along the Middle Corridor, and to enhance customer convenience via a single-window system. With the inclusion of the Chinese company, new opportunities will arise for organizing container shipments from China to Europe.