Azerbaijan has the potential to become the essential transportation hub for all the countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza told Trend.

"Azerbaijan has already been playing a crucial role for decades in east to west transportation," Bryza stated.

As he noted, Azerbaijan is playing a huge role in terms of connecting Caspian oil and natural gas resources with European markets.

"Meanwhile, Azerbaijan can further boost its role of a transport hub, if Armenia were to implement the agreements it signed up for after the second Karabakh war, particularly the statement of January 11, 2021, in which Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia pledged to work together for developing transport infrastructure. But, as we’ve seen lately, Armenia hasn't wanted to move ahead with the peace process," Bryza said.

He noted that Azerbaijan could be a key connector to arrange the supply of commodities that are so important for the global economy and shortages of which are contributing to high inflation rates around the world.

"Nevertheless, Azerbaijan is now playing a really big role for the SCO countries moving goods from East Asia to Europe," Bryza stressed.