BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 7. The Washington Agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia strengthens the position of the Middle Corridor, an EU-funded meta-study stated, TurkicWorld reports.
The study notes that the European Union’s strategic approach to the Black Sea region views the Black Sea and neighboring countries as key gateways linking Europe with Türkiye, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and other regions.
“For the EU, developing transport connectivity with Türkiye and the countries of the Eastern Partnership, including the South Caucasus, as well as Central Asia, can ensure faster and more reliable supplies of raw materials and goods, while also opening new export markets across Eurasia and fostering mutually beneficial trade.
In these conditions, amid the declining reliability of the Northern Corridor and the slower development of the Southern route, the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor is emerging as the most promising direction for sustainable, diversified, and geopolitically resilient multimodal connectivity between Europe and Asia. In addition, significant growth in cargo flows in the region and the agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan of August eight further strengthen the position of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor as the most viable route for sustainable, diversified, and reliable regional connectivity,” the study states.
According to the research, recent years have seen increased investment in infrastructure along the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor. However, serious challenges and bottlenecks remain, both in physical infrastructure and in the institutional and administrative aspects of transport connectivity. These range from relatively quick solutions aimed at increasing the capacity of overloaded nodes, such as improving the efficiency of border checkpoints, to long-term investments in new infrastructure, including the construction of new ports.
On August 8, 2025, following the results of a trilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint declaration on ensuring peace between Baku and Yerevan and establishing transport links between the main part of Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. This project was named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.
The Middle Corridor is a transport and trade route passing through several countries in the region and connecting Asia with Europe. It serves as an alternative to the traditional Northern and Southern corridors.
The route begins in China and passes through Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It then crosses the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye before reaching Europe. The Middle Corridor is a land-based route that bypasses longer maritime paths, linking eastern parts of Asia, including China, with Europe.
