Turkic Council Deputy Secretary General Gismat Gozalov, "We, As The Turkish Council, Own The Central Corridor

Turkic Council Project Director Ali Çiviler:

“MANY INCIDENTS REVEALED HOW IMPORTANT THIS LINE IS”

The Turkic Council, which was established to encourage comprehensive cooperation between Turkic speaking countries and started its work in 2010, is closely interested in the issue since its member countries are on the Middle Corridor route and carries out important studies on the Middle Corridor issue. Nuray Pekcan, Editor-in-Chief of My Truck Magazine, held an interview with Gismat Gozalov, Deputy Secretary General of the Council, and Ali Çiviler, Project Director, regarding the Middle Corridor issue, which is one of the important topics of the agenda. You can read these important statements in our news.

Mentioning that the Turkic Republics have come together at the level of Heads of State since 1992, Gismat Gozalov states that the necessary mechanism for the implementation of the decisions taken was created with the Turkic Council in 2009. Regarding the Turkic Council, he said that; “The Turkic Council started its activities in 2009 with the establishment of the Permanent Secretariat. Our summits started in 2011. To date, 9 summits, 7 ordinary and 2 informal, have been held. One of the main agenda items of these summits has always been transportation. In addition, the main topic of the summit in 2013 was transportation in particular. Uzbekistan became a full member of the Turkic Council in 2019. Previously, it was a 4-country organization formed by Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In 2018, Hungary joined the Turkic Council as an observer member.”

“As the Turkic Council, We Own This Corridor”

Stating that the Turkic Council provides cooperation between brotherly countries from transportation to tourism, from economy to trade, from health to culture, Gozalov said that transportation has a priority position in these areas. Gozalov also said about the Middle Corridor that; “The Middle Corridor passes through our member states. Therefore, as the Turkic Council, we have embraced the Middle Corridor. Member countries have made huge infrastructure investments on this corridor since their independence. The Middle Corridor is 8,500 kilometers, a shorter corridor compared to the South and North Corridors. This corridor is on the historical Silk Road and passes through Turkish countries from China to Europe, including Georgia. Our aim is to make this corridor more competitive and provide a real alternative to other corridors. The Northern Corridor is a 11,000-kilometer railway crossing Russia, and the other is a seaway. The accident involving a Japanese-flagged ship in the Suez Canal recently showed how important the Middle Corridor is.”

“Our Priority Has Always Been These Issues”

Stating that they made huge investments on the Trans-Caspian Corridor after the Turkic Republics gained their independence, Gozalov states that Kazakhstan built a railway of approximately one thousand kilometers from China to Aktau Port. Gozalov: He modernized other railways as well as the Port of Aktau. He built another port, the Kurik Port. Azerbaijan also built the modern port of Alat on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Turkmenistan, our sister country, has created the Turkmenbashi Port with international standards. All these investments were covered by the states' own budgets. States have policies here. Countries have started to establish the legal infrastructure in transportation and transit from the very beginning. At the 4 Council of Ministers and 9 Working Group meetings we have held under the roof of the Turkic Council, our priority has always been these issues, reducing the logistics costs in the Trans-Caspian Corridor, increasing the quality and speed of the operation.”

“We Will Meet With Our Brothers On The Other Side Of The Caspian”

Gozalov, who mentioned that they went to Baku with a delegation including Uzbekistan and UND as the Turkic Council a month ago and their visit in the coming days, states that Uzbekistan also attaches great importance to the Middle Corridor. Gozalov said that; "Since 2018, the President of Uzbekistan has been mentioning the importance of the Middle Corridor and Uzbekistan's exit to Europe through this corridor in all his speeches. Reducing transit prices to Baku, reducing stopovers in transit, how can Uzbekistan trucks use this corridor and how can it be used in Europe? We went to discuss issues such as how it can work towards going to Turkey. The Azerbaijani side made promises about Uzbekistan and it was agreed on these issues. UND will be with us during our visits to the Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan border, Kurik and Aktau Port. We will meet with our brothers on the other side of the Caspian and continue our work in that direction.

“An Expected Density is Experienced on the Middle Corridor, Our Goal Is to Increase This Density Even More”

Gozalov states that there has been a density on the Middle Corridor lately and their aim is to increase this density even more. Gozalov adds to his statements that; “Today, Turkmenistan has closed its borders due to the pandemic. Therefore, there are problems in the transportation of trucks to Central Asia through Iran. Trucks mostly go through Russia. Reducing prices is also on the agenda of the Council of Ministers between Azerbaijan and Turkey. Steps are also being taken in this direction. We will make our actors in the transportation sector happy about this. "

“There Are Some Structural or Regional Problems”

Emphasizing that they are in talks with Azerbaijan's largest shipping company CASPAR and all similar institutions, Gozalov states that Azerbaijan has recently included two new Ro-Pax ships with a capacity of 45-50 trucks in its fleet and that one of them has already been put into operation and that the other ship will be launched in a very short time. Gozalov said that; “There are some structural or regional problems, but Azerbaijan has opened these two ships for transportation in the Caspian. If the number of such ships is not high, we cannot carry out scheduled voyages, which are very important. Experts in Baku said that it is more advantageous to transport containers with Ro-Pax ships. In this way, twice as much load can be carried. There are also such problems and climatic problems in the Caspian. For example, the Caspian is windy for 2 months a year. However, we think that the problems will disappear as soon as possible. Some studies are also carried out on transit. We also have cooperation efforts among member states on the documents of electronic permits (E-permit). We started a pilot project between Turkey and Uzbekistan.”

“Many Incidents Have Revealed How Important This Line Is”

Underlining that one of the most important gains they are trying to create regarding the Middle Corridor is to ensure that countries attribute a strategic value to this corridor, Ali Çiviler said that; “Many events in the past years have brought to light the importance of this line. We are trying to coordinate many issues such as Caspian Ro-Ro expeditions, regular voyages, increasing the number of ships, reducing logistics costs, transit documents and quotas in terms of both the importance of the Middle Corridor and overcoming the existing problems.”

“Sister Ports Process Will Become Stronger With The Inclusion of Uzbekistan's Dry Ports and Mersin Port”

Stating that although there are ongoing problems, some positive developments have been achieved in the last ten years, Çiviler also emphasizes that they have started the Sister Ports process. Regarding this process, he states the following: “Baku, Aktau, Kurik and Samsun Ports are included in the Sister Ports process. Very soon, Mersin Port will join the existing cooperation process. A regular consultation process began between these ports. It carries out more cooperation between Caspian Ports, rather in electronic communication and customs clearance. The Sister Ports process will gradually get stronger with the inclusion of Uzbekistan's dry ports and Mersin Port. "

“A Pilot Project is Conducted Between Uzbekistan and Turkey”

Stating that the negotiations for the International Combined Cargo Transport Agreement between the member countries are continuing, Çiviler states that this way, both the speed advantage will be provided in customs clearance and a pass certificate will not be required. Çiviler said that; “The two biggest problems we have on the Caspian line are speed and cost. E-permit is very important because of both costs and waiting times. A pilot project is being carried out between Uzbekistan and Turkey under the umbrella of the Turkic Council. We are working to make this multilateral in the near future. A lot of certficates are exchanged between Azerbaijan and Turkey.”

“A Corridor Connecting the Turkish World”

Stating that all issues related to the Middle Corridor are on the agenda of heads of state, Gozalov also states that as the Turkic Council, they continue their work on this issue. Gozalov makes the following evaluations in his speech: “We have an International Combined Freight Transport Agreement and we plan to complete it until the next summit. This will make a significant contribution to our cooperation in the field of transportation. At the Extraordinary Summit last April, the Presidents mentioned not only the road but also the railroad. Our work in this direction continues. The Turkestan Summit was held recently. President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev gave wide coverage to the Zangezur Corridor in his speech. The Zangezur Corridor, which came to the agenda with the trilateral agreement signed on November 10 after the 2nd Karabakh War, will be a corridor that unites the Turkish world. There is a highway disconnect between Turkey and the Turkish world, not counting Georgia. If Zangezur starts its operations through Nakhchivan today, our cooperation in the field of transportation will expand even more. Zangezur is a line that will connect Nakhchivan with the mainland of Azerbaijan. A railway and highway construction is envisaged here. Construction works were started on the Azerbaijan side. The highway to be created in the Zangezur Corridor will be an almost 300 km shorter alternative to the transport corridor on Georgia.”

“There Are Some Concrete Developments such as Acceleration of Border Crossings”

Underlining that the states now attach strategic importance to the Middle Corridor issue, Çiviler also states that countries describe themselves as important transit countries in a strategic geography. Çiviler said that; “There are some concrete developments in this regard, such as the acceleration of border crossings. For example, there is good news from Azerbaijan. The bill on the abolition of pass taxes is now in parliament. With the comfort of the Iran and Russia Corridor, those who have not been able to form an effective policy on the Caspian so far now look at this corridor differently. There is no problem that Turkey and other Turkic Council member countries cannot solve in the Caspian if it takes seriously. On the other hand, new cooperation perspectives are emerging in the region with the Zangezur Corridor. This line is both a new road connecting Turkey with its brothers and has an important regional cooperation potential. It even means a railway between Turkey and Russia.”

“We Will Take a Trial Drive from the Chinese Border to Istanbul”

Gozalov, who also informed that there will be a test drive from the Horgos Gate on the Chinese border of Kazakhstan to Istanbul, states that their aim with this ride is to show the world that the Middle Corridor is the shortest corridor and to convey the problems in this corridor to the countries. Gozalov said that; “We will do this test drive together with UND and report the problems and present them to the heads of state of the countries. This year, if the pandemic allows, we will carry out the drive by the end of the year.”