A meeting of the heads of railway departments of the participating states of the international multimodal transport and transit route of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region-China-Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan–Turkmenistan–Azerbaijan–Georgia– Türkiye –Europe (CASCA+) began today in the capital’s Yyldyz Hotel. The event is attended by delegations of line ministries and relevant departments, as well as logistics companies and enterprises from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan. The main topic of the meeting is the strengthening of international cooperation between logistics structures, the activation of the CASCA+ transport corridor, the exchange of experience of the participating countries in order to realize the transport potential in road, sea, rail and air transportation. The countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus play an important role in transport and transit corridors in the Eurasian region. In this context, a huge place is given to multimodal transport routes with the participation of these states.

It should be noted that the CASCA+ route is a continuation in a qualitatively new format of the international multimodal route of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region–China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan–Turkmenistan–Azerbaijan–Georgia–Europe, created in 2019 in Tashkent at a meeting of the heads of the state railways of these countries. Türkiye joined the project in December 2021.

Currently, the CASCA+ transport corridor covers 3 regions: Central Asia – Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, the South Caucasus – Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as Anatolia – Türkiye. CASCA is the abbreviated name of these regions in English (Central Asia, South Caucasus and Anatolia). The “+” sign in the name of the route indicates readiness to accept new potential participants interested in transportation along the route, the ultimate goal of which is to connect the states of Southeast Asia, in particular, China with Europe. One of the main objectives of the route is to ensure transport connectivity between the countries of Central Asia and Europe. A landmark event in this context was the container block train from Uzbekistan to Bulgaria, consisting of 46 wagons and 91 container units. It was sent by the countries of the route in December 2022 and followed the Uzbekistan–Turkmenistan–Azerbaijan–Georgia–Bulgaria–Europe route with a length of more than 4,000 km. The main task is to ensure that such container trains run on this route on a regular basis.

The multimodality of the route passing through two seas and the territories of numerous countries makes it possible to effectively use the possibilities of this corridor. Since the launch of the route, about 30 thousand containers have been transported.

Turkmenistan has a special role in this project – the country’s share in transportation during this period amounted to 9 thousand containers in the direction of import, 12 thousand for export and 9 thousand for transit. The goal of the operators is to increase the volume of container traffic to 30 thousand containers this year.

The welcoming speeches noted the importance and significance of holding a regular meeting of the heads of railway departments of the states participating in the international transport and transit route of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region-China-Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan–Turkmenistan–Azerbaijan–Georgia–Türkiye–Europe in Turkmenistan – one of the key member states of this transport project and an important strategic partner in transportation from Europe to Asia.

It was emphasized that consideration of the issues outlined in the agenda would also facilitate the intensification of transportation and expansion of the range of goods along the North–South and East–West transport corridors.

The development of the railway industry, taking into account the exceptional importance of this type of transport, which bears the main burden of mass transportation over long distances, is one of the main priorities of the development of our state, which relies on the steady strengthening and expansion of trade and economic ties with all interested partner countries. This is directly facilitated by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov’s policy of broad international cooperation in the transport sector, taking into account the favorable geographical location of the country.

Emphasizing the exceptional importance of the topic discussed at the current meeting, the speakers noted that cooperation in such a promising area as rail transport and logistics is an integral factor of positive integration processes in the context of the globalization of the world economy and universal sustainable development.

The participants expressed sincere gratitude to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov for the hospitality rendered on Turkmen soil, the creation of favorable conditions for constructive and business work of the forum, and were unanimous in the opinion that this meeting will serve to further strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation.

During the three-day meeting of the heads of railway departments of the participating states of the international multimodal transport and transit route, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region-China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan–Turkmenistan–Azerbaijan–Georgia–Türkiye –Europe will discuss issues of bilateral cooperation within the framework of CASCA+, expansion of cooperation, etc.

It is also envisaged to sign a Protocol aimed at strengthening productive cooperation between the parties for the sake of universal well-being and progressive development.

As part of their stay in Ashgabat, sightseeing tours and an extensive cultural program are provided for the forum participants.