Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are working together on the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR or Middle Corridor), Ambassador of Kazakhstan Alim Bayel said during an event dedicated to Kazakhstan's Republic Day in Baku, Trend reported.

He mentioned that in the past period of 2023, the volume of cargo transportation along this route increased by 85 percent.

"In recent years, bilateral and multilateral cooperation between our countries has significantly intensified. Trade turnover has increased by 60 percent this year. Kazakhs make up almost half of the tourists coming to Azerbaijan from Central Asian countries. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are implementing projects of not only bilateral but also regional scale," the ambassador pointed out.

Bayel also noted that this year, the two countries have begun laying fiber-optic cable on the bottom of the Caspian Sea, which is an important part of the digital telecommunication corridor between Europe and Asia.

Furthermore, the ambassador emphasized that in 2023, Kazakhstan has also started exporting oil through Azerbaijan.

"We plan to increase the transportation of our oil through Azerbaijan to several million tons," he added.

The Middle Corridor is a transportation and trade route that connects Asia and Europe, passing through several countries in the region. It is an alternative route to the traditional Northern Corridor and Southern Corridor.

The route starts in China and crosses Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It then passes through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye before reaching Europe.

The Middle Corridor offers a land route that connects the eastern parts of Asia, including China, with Europe, bypassing the longer maritime routes.