Kazakhstan strengthens Middle Corridor role as Tokayev advances Caspian cooperation

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan agreed on October 15 to deepen cooperation on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), known as the Middle Corridor. The agreement was exchanged by the countries' ministers in the presence of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and establishes a legal framework for coordination on rail, road and port infrastructure. The corridor connects China with Europe through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye.

According to official data, TITR freight volumes reached 4.48 million tons in 2024 before easing to 4.12 million tons in 2025, while container traffic rose 36% in 2025 to around 77,000 TEU. Freight movement rose 22% year on year in January-August 2026, and East-West transit through Kazakhstan increased by 55%. Construction of the more than 1,500-kilometer Aral-Caspian highway began in August.

A September 2026 World Bank report estimates that targeted investment could more than triple trade along the corridor by 2040 and halve transit times, while stressing the need for logistics coordination. The Sarzha logistics cluster at Kuryk, being developed by SEMURG INVEST and MEDLOG, envisages up to five million tons of additional annual handling capacity and 110,000 TEU of container throughput.