Within the framework of the Ministerial of Transport held in Turkey, a quadripartite meeting was held, in which besides Georgia, the delegations of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan also participated.

The Georgian delegation was led by the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Natia Turnava.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Economy, the so-called Special attention was paid to the Trans-Caspian Ministerial, the so-called China-Europe connection. The issue of over-development of the middle corridor. These countries are the middle corridor through which cargo is transported from China to Europe and vice versa.

"The meeting highlighted, in particular, the significant progress made in recent years in making the Trans-Caspian Middle East Corridor operational and increasing its awareness as the shortest, safest and most reliable way to connect Europe and Asia. In particular, it was said that the volume of cargo transported in the corridor has increased, which clearly indicates the progress, "- said in the information of the Ministry of Economy.

According to them, in his speech, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia focused on the growing dynamics of container traffic in the Trans-Caspian Middle Corridor. According to him, in 2020, compared to 2019, the turnover of containers from China, including imports through Georgia, increased by 12.9 percent, and this positive trend is maintained this year as well - in January-August 2021, the figure is 268 percent.

"It is important that the number of containers transported on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is growing steadily. In particular, a 56.4 percent increase was recorded in the first eight months of 2021. This is happening despite the unprecedented challenges posed by Covid-19 and related economic factors. The new coronavirus was a real test of our transportation systems, and thanks to our close cooperation, we were able to avoid significant gaps in cross-border movement. We are doing our best to at least maintain positive dynamics in freight transportation, "Natia Turnava said.

According to the head of the Georgian delegation, proactive approaches are necessary to ensure the sustainable and efficient operation of our transport corridors.

"Our main goal should be to continuously develop and maintain a competitive advantage by upgrading infrastructure, improving transport links, strengthening transport operations and services, to ensure the growing volume of cargo in the corridor," Natia Turnava said.

In this context, and to further intensify the functioning of the Middle Corridor, he welcomed the establishment of a joint working group composed of representatives of the competent authorities of the Parties.

At the Trans-Caspian Ministerial, delegations from Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan discussed how to make the Middle Corridor more competitive in the face of global competition to make it more attractive for cargo and new infrastructure investments.

source: 1TV