European policymakers have kept busy in Central Asia and now the Caucasus.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev returned from Brussels with signed agreements, while the EU deployed €12 billion across Central Asia. European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef SÃkela stood in Tashkent last week to announce six new agreements under Global Gateway.
Representatives from 32 countries gathered at the Third EU-Central Asia Economic Forum to discuss transport corridors, raw materials, and digital infrastructure.
Brussels committed €10 billion to develop the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor. Official documents favour terms like partnerships and sustainable growth, but geography dictates policy.
Every agreement Brussels signs with Central Asia passes through one country.
Azerbaijan controls the infrastructure converting European investment promises into cargo movement.
Orchestrating the Middle Corridor
Memoranda signed in Tashkent depend on physical logistics and Azerbaijani cooperation.
Volumes along the Middle Corridor have grown by nearly 90% since 2022: carrying Kazakh oil, uranium, container trains from China, and Uzbek goods. Freight transport volumes surged 63% to 4.1 million tonnes over the first 11 months of 2024.
Azerbaijan adapted quickly to supply the necessary capacity. The country operates the largest Caspian fleet of 70 vessels, including tankers and rail ferries. The Alat International Port handles 15 million tonnes of cargo annually, with plans to reach 25 million tonnes.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway now transports five million tonnes per year following modernisation.
Baku constructs terminals and expands ports to accommodate European requirements. Azerbaijan Railways moved 3.8 million tonnes of transit cargo in 2019, risin
g to 6.8 million tonnes in 2023.
Infrastructure buildup establishes physical realities that direct subsequent European strategy. New projects matured the corridor.
The first block train dispatched from Azerbaijan to China on November 24, 2024, proved the Middle Corridor functions as bidirectional infrastructure, establishing Azerbaijan as a logistics orchestrator.
Integrating Energy and Minerals
European dependency on Russian energy initiated the political mandate for Global Gateway. Three countries signed an agreement at COP29 in Baku for green energy production and transfer.
The Central Asia-Azerbaijan Green Energy Corridor connects Kazakhstan to the Caucasus and Europe.
Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov stated work advances to deliver four gigawatts of renewable energy through the Caspian-Black Sea-Europe corridor by 2032.
European industries require lithium, rare earths, and uranium. Kazakhstan produces 19 of the 30 elements Europe needs.
To secure supplies, Brussels initiated programmes like GROW CRM and DATA4CRM. Commissioner SÃkela signed the €7.5 million DATA4CRM initiative for geological data access. Processing facilities in Almaty or Tashkent achieve utility only after refined inputs reach European factories.
Azerbaijan provides the logistics spine. Fiber-optic systems integrated into energy infrastructure transform single-purpose lines into digital platforms.
The European Investment Bank pledged €1.47 billion to Kazakhstan for transport modernisation, but roads funnel into Azerbaijani ports. The country positions itself as the hub connecting extractive economies with consumer markets.
A Unified Geopolitical Focus
Major global powers perceive the region through a similar geographic lens. The U.S.-Central Asia Summit took place in Washington in early November. President Donald Trump discussed the TRIPP project to boost commercial activity across the Caspian.
The Zangezur Corridor serves as the physical component. Brussels mobilises €10 billion for the same route. American and European funds converge on identical infrastructure.
China utilises the same alignment for trade routes. Container trains from Xi’an traverse Kazakh railways, cross the Caspian on Azerbaijani ferries, and transit Georgian territory before reaching European distribution centres. Regional actors coordinate similarly.
Georgia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Romania will sign an agreement in December establishing a multimodal corridor to the EU.
Such consensus grants Azerbaijan leverage. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stated Azerbaijan serves as a strategic bridge connecting Central Asia and Europe.
Brussels directs capital toward Trans-Caspian connectivity, capitalizing on the efficiency of utilising existing logistics. By building infrastructure that makes European investment viable, Azerbaijan ensures it remains the gateway Brussels cannot ignore.
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