“One of our main goals is to simplify transit procedures between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye, eliminate waiting times at border crossing points, and create the necessary infrastructure to facilitate trade and transit processes through the implementation of international standards by these countries,” Türkiye’s Deputy Minister of Trade Sezai Uçarmak told journalists at the 5th meeting of the Trilateral Committee on Customs Issues between the governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Republic of Türkiye, held in the Goygol district, APA’s local bureau reports.
“Today, as the heads of the customs administrations of the three countries, we are holding our fifth meeting. These three countries have a very important position within the framework of international transit and neighborly relations, as well as in East-West trade. Therefore, we consider this meeting very important. We discuss these issues at every meeting. One of our main goals is to simplify transit procedures, eliminate waiting times at border crossing points, and create the necessary infrastructure to facilitate trade and transit processes through the implementation of international standards by these countries,” he noted.
According to Sezai Uçarmak, significant investments are being made in road, railway and maritime transport infrastructure in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Türkiye: “We can clearly see this. When I visit Georgia from time to time, I observe the development of the roads. We are witnessing the same development in infrastructure in Azerbaijan as well.”
“One point must be acknowledged here: there is consumption in the West, while production takes place in the East. Naturally, there is significant movement of cargo and goods in this direction. However, in the geography where we are located, namely along the route we call the Middle Corridor, the overall transit capacity is currently quite low. If the infrastructure is further developed, procedures are simplified, and all processes are harmonized with each other and brought into a unified system, we believe that this transit traffic will increase further. I do not assess this only in terms of transportation. This process will also trigger new investments. Because trade in goods has this characteristic: it is not possible to create significant economic value simply by taking goods from one point and transporting them to another. You do not earn revenue only from the transportation part of the process. If you transform those goods into another product and process them, you also generate additional income. Countries are actually aware of this,” he emphasized.
Sezai Uçarmak said that improving the investment environment and implementing various projects make it possible to attract new investors:
“Azerbaijan is a country that plays an important bridge role in the East-West corridor. The crossing of the Caspian Sea is largely connected with countries such as Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Naturally, crossing the Caspian Sea also needs to be facilitated. As you can see in all countries, the investment environment is being improved, various projects are being implemented, and investors are being attracted from different parts of the world. However, it must be acknowledged that, in order to invest somewhere, there must first of all be opportunity and profitability. Customs procedures and other processes must also be approached precisely from this perspective. No one will invest with the approach of ‘let it be small, but let it be mine.’ If the approach is based on the principle of ‘let it be big, let all countries benefit, and let the countries you cooperate with also benefit from it,’ then new opportunities emerge. We can see this very clearly. We closely follow the processes in these countries — Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran.”
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