Astana, Jan 24 (EFE).- Kazakhstan hopes to strengthen its position as a transit country between Asia and Europe by strengthening the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), through which cargo bypasses Russia, Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko told EFE on Wednesday.
“Approximately 85% of all land traffic from China to Europe passes through Kazakhstan,” the diplomat said, adding that last year the total flow of cargo through Kazakh territory totaled 895 million tonnes.
According to Vassilenko, the nearly two-year-long Russian military campaign in Ukraine leads more and more countries to realize that dependence on a single source or route of supplies represents a risk to their national security, so diversification becomes a priority.
“And today, the attention of many countries of the world is directed to expanding the capacity of the TITR, which starts in China and passes through the territories of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and ends in Europe, thus bypassing Russian territory,” the deputy minister said.
He explained that the growing popularity of this route is also due to reducing by half – from 38-53 days to 18-23 days – the delivery time of goods, which is planned to be shortened by another four to five days this year.
Vassilenko specified that the four countries through which TITR passes plan to increase their transit capacity from the current 2.5 million tons to 10 million tons by 2030.
“An investment forum will be held in Brussels on the 29th and 30th, where new measures to strengthen TITR will be discussed,” the deputy minister said, stressing that its results will have a “great impact on the future of transport arteries in the heart of Eurasia.” EFE
Source: La Prensa