BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 13. Together with a
member of the Azerbaijan International Road Carriers Association
(ABADA), close cooperation is underway across several priority
areas, including work on the Middle Corridor and the simplification
of border-crossing procedures, Tatiana Rey-Bellet, Director of TIR
and Transit at the International Road Transport Union (IRU), told
Trend.
“Our goal is to turn the Middle Corridor into a model corridor
based on three key principles: simplification, digitalization, and
harmonization. Azerbaijan’s Minister of Transport, acting as the
lead for the transport track at COP29, as well as ministers from
countries around the world, have confirmed their intention to
promote the Middle Corridor as an example of sustainable,
interconnected, digital, and reliable development. Azerbaijan plays
a key role in strengthening the resilience of the Middle Corridor,”
Rey-Bellet said.
She noted that countries located along the Middle Corridor have
also committed to ensuring the full operation of the eTIR and e-CMR
systems. According to her, the private sector is fully ready for
this, while “business-to-business” and “business-to-customs”
connections are ensured through TIR IT tools provided by the
IRU.
“Customs administrations now have a key role to play in
cooperation with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
(UNECE) and in establishing connections between customs authorities
that are legally enshrined in Annex 11 of the TIR Convention, as
well as in implementing the e-CMR system. All that is needed to
advance these initiatives is political will,” Rey-Bellet
explained.
She added that Azerbaijan became a pioneer in the implementation
of eTIR and, in 2022, was the first country to test the first eTIR
transport operation.
According to her, the overall goal of the IRU for 2026 is to
make eTIR functional for the remaining countries of the Middle
Corridor.
“As for simplifying border crossings, visits to border points
help identify bottlenecks and open up opportunities to accelerate
trade. Together with Union members, recommendations have been
prepared focusing on major border crossings between Turkey and
Azerbaijan, as well as between Iran and Azerbaijan. Further
prospects are linked to the gradual opening of new transit
opportunities in the region. One such opportunity is the expansion
of trade ties between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The first transit
operations have already been carried out. We look forward to
continuing these efforts at the ITF Summit 2026 in Leipzig,
Germany, under Azerbaijan’s chairmanship,” Rey-Bellet
concluded.
The Middle Corridor is a transport and trade route passing
through several countries in the region and connecting Asia with
Europe. It serves as an alternative to the traditional Northern and
Southern corridors.
The route begins in China and passes through Central Asian
countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It then
crosses the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye before
reaching Europe. The Middle Corridor is a land-based route that
bypasses longer maritime paths, linking eastern parts of Asia,
including China, with Europe.
