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U.S. Assistant Secretary: â€œWith the completion of the Bosphorus tunnel, a rail link will connect the Caspian through Turkey to the rest of Europeâ€

14 March 2013 09:37 (UTC +04:00)

But we are encouraged by the increasing regional consensus around it and the progress to date,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake at the annual congress of the Turkic-American Alliance in Washington DC, APA reports quoting the website of U.S. Department of State.

He said Azerbaijan’s planned construction of a sea port at Alat on the Caspian and its purchase of additional cargo ships would expand the region’s capacity for increased trade: “Both Turkey and Azerbaijan are upgrading their railroads, and with the completion of the Bosphorus tunnel, a rail link will connect the Caspian through Turkey to the rest of Europe, greatly increasing volumes and decreasing transit times of goods between Europe and Asia.

We see tremendous progress in the efforts of the region to accede to the WTO, for example, as Kyrgyzstan and, just recently, Tajikistan have already done. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Afghanistan are all making good progress in their accession processes. And Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have recently shown new interest in the WTO. WTO access will open markets and increase economic opportunity for the people of the region.”