Azerbaijan Accelerates Middle Corridor Push With Central Asia Trade Deals
Dangote's Dollar Shift Reveals Nigeria's Bigger Oil Problem Central Asian governments are responding… Eurasianet is an independent news organization that covers news from and about the South Caucasus and Central Asia, providing on-the-ground reporting and critical perspectives on… 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 ofagreementsto 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," TeshabayevtoldReport.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 toUzbek 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 adigital permit systemfor road transport to eliminate delay-inducing paperwork.
The new system will go into effect in 2027.
Somewhat bucking the expansionist trend, Teshabayevindicatedthat 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 troublemeeting its initial export target.
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Crude | $102.14/bbl | +0.34% |
| WTI Crude | $96.90/bbl | +0.21% |
| EN590 Diesel | $846/MT | +0.18% |
| Jet Fuel A-1 | $1090/MT | +0.55% |
| Mazut M100 | $450/MT | -0.15% |
| Bitumen 60/70 | $470/MT | +0.08% |
| Sulphur Gran 99.5% | $470/MT | -0.44% |
| Urea 46% Gran | $650/MT | +1.12% |
| NPK 16-16-16 | $460/MT | -0.28% |
| Nat Gas TTF | $15.42/MMBtu | +0.92% |
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