With the rise of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and a litany of international sanctions levied against Russia, the most popular global shipping routes have become increasingly unreliable. Some companies are avoiding the Suez route altogether, preferring to go around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. In Russia, westbound cargo throughput along … Read more
On January 29, the delegations of the European Union and the five Central Asian countries convened in Brussels for the two-day Global Gateway Investors Forum. This event aimed to build upon the findings of the EU-commissioned study on sustainable transport connections between Europe and Central Asia and translate political commitments into concrete actions, fostering enhanced … Read more
In late November, the World Bank published an economic analysis on the potential of the Middle Corridor to develop over the next decade. The report estimates that by 2030, travel times between the western border of China and Europe will halve, and freight volumes will triple to 11 million tons. This comes on the heels … Read more
Advertisement Driven by China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), from 2015 onwards rail-borne containerized cargo flows between the European Union (EU) and China increased steadily. Volumes hit a peak between 2020 and early 2022, the start of the war in Ukraine. During 2021, well over 600,000 TEUs (twenty-feet equivalent units) were moved between Chinese and … Read more
Advertisement On August 6, Ukraine published a coastal notification, declaring the waters of six Russian ports on the Black Sea – Anapa, Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik, Tuapse, Sochi, and Taman – as a zone of “military threat.” This happened in response to Russia’s exit last month from a deal that had allowed safe export of Ukrainian grain. … Read more
Advertisement From July 27-31, a delegation from Georgia, led by Irakli Garibashvili, paid an official visit to China. The visit began with a notably warm welcome at the airport, followed by meetings between Garibashvili and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as Premier Li Qiang. Subsequently, China and Georgia jointly announced the elevation of their … Read more
Advertisement A recent European study on sustainable transport connections with Central Asia concluded that the Central Trans-Caspian Network (CTCN), crossing southern Kazakhstan, provides the “most sustainable transport connections between Europe and Central Asia,” particularly when a “two-layer catchment” area that spans 300 km north and 600 km south of the core route — hereby touching … Read more
Advertisement Kazakhstan is betting heavily on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), or Middle Corridor, as an alternative to reach European and international markets and bypass Russia. Many factors need to be considered to understand whether the corridor will boom in the short or long term; one vital topic is the future of Kazakhstani ports. … Read more