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Deputy Minister: Zangazur corridor will act as a sustainable alternative route against geopolitical risks

31 October 2025 17:11 (UTC +04:00)

The construction of a new border crossing point is ongoing in Aghband village, located on Azerbaijan’s border with Iran, and it is planned to be completed next year, said Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rahman Hummatov at a briefing held for the diplomatic corps at the Zangilan Congress Center, APA reports.

According to him, Azerbaijan’s goal is not only to play the role of a transit country but also to become a regional economic hub where production, logistics, innovation, and trade converge.

“As a result of the work carried out, the transport sector accounted for 7 percent of GDP in 2024, which represents a 12.7 percent increase compared to the previous year. In 2024, the total volume of transit cargo across the country reached 14.5 million tons. This figure demonstrates steady growth compared to previous years — it is 2.5 times higher than the pre-pandemic level of 2019. Approximately 4.5 million tons of this cargo were transported via the Middle Corridor. Recent experience shows that global supply chains are highly sensitive to geopolitical tensions, pandemics, and other disruptions. In this context, the Middle Corridor — the route passing through Central Asia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye— has emerged as a safe and promising alternative route. As a result, interest in the Middle Corridor is rapidly increasing among both international organizations and national governments. According to the World Bank, the annual cargo capacity of the Middle Corridor will reach 11 million tons by 2030. This progress makes the opening of the Zangazur Corridor both timely and strategically important.”

The Deputy Minister noted that the opening of the Zangazur Corridor will create entirely new geoeconomic realities for the region's transport network: “This corridor, which has the potential to expand trade routes between Europe and Asia, is not only a logistics route but also a symbol of historical and cultural integration. The Zangazur Corridor will not only restore Azerbaijan’s direct land connection with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic but will also serve as a key strategic link between the East–West and North–South transport corridors. Following the historic Victory in 2020, the trilateral declaration signed between Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia provided a framework for the restoration of regional transport and communication lines and the opening of new routes. The Washington Declaration, signed in August 2025, was an important step toward the implementation of this project. Once the project is fully completed, the corridor’s annual cargo capacity will reach 15 million tons. This corridor will increase the reliability of the Eurasian trade and transport network by acting as an alternative route resilient to geopolitical risks.