Azerbaijan is working hard this summer to build bridges across the Caspian Sea, announcing a variety of projects to expand Middle Corridor trade with Central Asian states.
In late June, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan signed a series of agreements to foster energy cooperation and open a regular flow of goods between the two states. Since the start of July, Baku has launched similar initiatives with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Deputy Uzbek Trade Minister Khurram Teshabayev, in an interview published by a government-aligned Azerbaijani media outlet, revealed that Tashkent and Baku intend to build and operate a joint trans-Caspian cargo fleet. The two countries are also working to streamline the tariff regime and transit procedures for seaborne cargo traffic.
"These initiatives will improve the efficiency of multimodal transport, make logistics chains more sustainable and reduce transport costs for exporters," Teshabayev told Report.az. “The volume of cargo transportation along this route has been steadily growing, the range of exported products is expanding.”
Teshabayev also said trade officials are planning to develop a joint logistics hub in the vicinity of Baku’s port that is integrated with Azerbaijan’s rail network, enabling the reduction of transit times for Uzbek goods bound for European markets. He described the planned hub as “one of the key projects for developing [bilateral] transport and logistics infrastructure.”
Uzbek-Azerbaijani trade volume surged by almost 43 percent during the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, reaching $80.1 million, according to Uzbek data. The two countries are aiming to reach $1 billion in annual trade turnover by 2030.
Meanwhile, Kazakh and Azerbaijani officials have announced the introduction of a digital permit system for road transport to eliminate delay-inducing paperwork. The new system will go into effect in 2027.
Somewhat bucking the expansionist trend, Teshabayev indicated that a planned trans-Caspian power line to export of solar- and wind-generated electricity from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan and onward to European markets may have trouble meeting its initial export target.
Both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are striving to implement ambitious economic power-thirsty growth plans while presently grappling with electricity deficits. The two countries have a wide variety of projects in various stages of development – including green energy initiatives, and the construction of nuclear and coal-fired plants – to meet fast-growing domestic electricity needs. But it is uncertain how much excess power will be left over for export across the trans-Caspian line.
Initial projections call for the trans-Caspian cable to carry up to 5 gigawatts (GW) of electricity by 2030. Teshabayev said Uzbekistan’s electricity export capacity might be as low as 2 GW, without specifying a timeframe.
By Eurasianet
