The 84th international meeting of the CIS Council on railway transport is taking place in the capital of Turkmenistan. This representative forum traditionally serves as a key platform for coordinating actions, strengthening economic ties, and expanding multilateral cooperation between railway authorities of the region.
The Minister of railway transport of Turkmenistan, M. Akmammedov, spoke on the sidelines of the event. The head of the department emphasised that our country is systematically and purposefully investing in the modernisation of its entire transport infrastructure – from railways and highways to seaports.
«Our transport corridors not only provide efficient connections with neighbouring countries, but also play a fundamental role in global logistics, ensuring the uninterrupted transit of goods to Europe, Russia, China, and India», – the minister noted.
The head of the department noted that Turkmenistan is currently demonstrating impressive rates of expansion of its road infrastructure. Today, the total length of railways of the country has reached 5,15 thousand km, of which more than 2 thousand km are new lines that have recently been put into operation.
Particular attention is paid to the development of international transport corridors East-West and North-South. The latter opens the shortest route to the markets of India, Pakistan and the Persian Gulf countries via Iran, making it one of the most promising routes on the continent.
«To develop the North–South corridor, special tariff conditions have been provided for transportation from China, Kazakhstan, Russia, and the Republic of Belarus to Turkmenistan and third countries, as well as in the opposite direction. This strategically important corridor has become a significant step towards integrating transport systems of our countries into the global economy, ensuring the growth of transit potential», – M. Akmammedov emphasised.
In this context, M. Akmammedov called for the consolidation of efforts of the participating countries and the further increase of transportation volumes.
«Given our combined commitment to providing high-quality, competitive transport and logistics services, as well as through a coordinated tariff policy, we hope to increase transportation volumes along the Eastern Route of the North-South International Transport Corridor», – stated M. Akmammedov.
At the same time, one of the main areas of development of transport partnerships is container transportation carried out through the ports of Turkmenbashy and Olya. According to the speaker, statistics for the current year confirm the high dynamics. Between January and April 2026, container traffic volumes increased by 70% compared to the same period last year. This factor demonstrates active position of Turkmenistan in matters of developing transport and transit corridors and increasing their economic sustainability.
