The historical Great Silk Road as the shortest route from Asia to Europe passed through the South Caucasus countries. TRACECA (Transport Corridor Europe-the Caucasus-Asia) is a special project within the framework of EU technical assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) aimed at developing the field of transport transit routes. The project has been developed since 1991 and was adopted at a conference held in Brussels in May 1993 with the participation of 8 countries (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). The conference resulted in the Brussels Declaration which laid the foundations for the operation of the inter-regional TRACECA programme. Moldova, Mongolia and Ukraine soon joined the programme; Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria in 2000, and Iran in 2009.

The Europe-Caucasus-Asia TRACECA international transport corridor is an alternative project to the other two East-West routes, the Transoceanic Transport and the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Trans-Caspian international transport route, which is a strategic point in this corridor, has a freight potential of more than 15 million tonnes per year. It is a link between shippers and recipients in China, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, the Persian Gulf, South Caucasus, Turkey and European countries.

The difficult socio-economic situation in the first years of independence, the continuation of the transport and economic blockade, the severance of former economic ties, the lack of access to European and world markets posed a serious threat to our state independence. In these conditions, the TRACECA project, initiated by the European Commission for the post-independence countries and supported by the leadership of the country, has opened up wide opportunities to defend our statehood and strengthen it economically and politically. The national leader Heydar Aliyev, by implementing integrated and comprehensive measures, turned the idea of restoring the Historic Silk Road from a dream into a reality.

In September 1997 there was a welcome initiative by Presidents Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Shevardnadze of Georgia who jointly proposed to host a Presidential Conference in the Caucasus in 1998 that could lead to the signing of Basic Multilateral Agreement on Transport initiated within the TRACECA programme. And with the support of the TACIS-TRACECA programme of the European Union acting at that time, this initiative has resulted in the International Conference “TRACECA – Restoration of the Historic Silk Route” that held on 8 September 1998 in Baku.

The conference was attended by the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, representatives of the European Commission, heads of governments and transport ministries and experts from 32 countries as well as representatives of 12 international organizations. The important achievement of the conference was the signing of the Basic Multilateral Agreement on International Transport for Development of the Corridor Europe-the Caucasus-Asia and its Technical Annexes on international railway and road transport, international maritime navigation, customs and documentation procedures.
After the signing the Basic Multilateral Agreement in September, 1998 in Baku, TRACECA programme became the programme of development cooperation in the field of transport along Europe-the Caucasus-Asia transport corridor.

The Permanent Secretariat of TRACECA was established in March 2000 in Baku, and inaugurated on February 21, 2001 with the participation of the then President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, together with Javier Solana, Christopher Patten, Anna Lind.

Within the framework of implementation of the TRACECA Programme, important works were carried out in our country in the direction of transport infrastructure development in order to implement the conditions of the Multilateral Agreement. Thus, major projects on construction of new highways along the corridor, reconstruction of existing roads and bringing them to a high technical level have been implemented.

The biggest project implemented in the railway sector within the TRACECA programme is the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line. The total length of the railway line is about 840 km, of which 503 km pass through the territory of Azerbaijan, 259 km – Georgia, 78 km – Turkey. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, commissioned on 30 October 2017, providing a connection between the Trans-European and Trans-Asian railway networks, is a restoration of the ancient Silk Road on the steel routes. The creation of this project on the historic Silk Road increases its attractiveness for the countries of the region, facilitates the access of Central Asian countries – Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan – to European and world markets, and plays a significant role in the development of their trade relations, economies and integration in whole.

In order to increase cargo traffic along this transport corridor important steps have been taken to ensure unhindered multimodal cargo transport within Azerbaijan, as well as to ensure faster and safer transport of goods from Europe to China and back. The free trade zone being established on the instructions of President Ilham Aliyev in the Alyat settlement of the Garadagh district of Baku, including the territory of the Baku International Sea Trade Port, will also be of particular importance in transforming Azerbaijan into an international transport hub. The free trade zone, while playing a leading role in the international cargo transportation and logistics chain Europe-Asia, will also be of exceptional importance in promoting local production, popularizing the “Made in Azerbaijan” brand around the world. The Free Trade Zone is planned to serve a regional scale market comprising parts of the South Caucasus, Central Asia, Iran, Russia and Turkey and covering a population of 130 million people.

Integration of the North-South and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars transport corridors is also envisaged in the future. Azerbaijan is an active participant of both projects. These transport corridors will be used by China, Kazakhstan, Central Asian republics, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and European countries.

Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Karabakh War and the end of the conflict laid the foundation for new relations in the region. The trilateral statement signed on 10 November 2020 included a clause on the construction of new transport communications linking Nakhichivan to the main territory of Azerbaijan. Active work on the Zangazur corridor is also underway, and the implementation of this corridor will be another historic success for Azerbaijan.

The commissioning of new international airports in various regions of the country during the last years, the construction of new roads and its leading role in the implementation of new regional projects, as part of a deliberate policy of Azerbaijan, contributes to the development of the internal transport infrastructure. In addition, it transforms Azerbaijan into a Eurasian transport hub.

Recommended literature:

1. Vəliyev, Dünyamalı Əmir oğlu. Azərbaycanın qlobal iqtisadiyyata inteqrasiyası : monoqrafiya / D. Ə. Vəliyev ; elmi red. A. A. Nadirov. - Bakı : Adiloğlu, 2008. - 428 s.
2. Süleymanov, Elxan Sirac oğlu. Avropa İttifaqı və Azərbaycan: strateji tərəfdaşlığa doğru = The EU and Azerbaijan: towards strategic partnership / E. S. Süleymanov ; red. R. Sevdimalıyev. - Bakı : CBS Polygraphic Production, 2011. - 112 s.
3. Abdullayev, Kamran Nurəddin oğlu. Avropa Birliyinə inteqrasiya istiqamətində Azərbaycan Respublikasının nəqliyyat sektoru üzrə özəl sahibkarlığın yaradılması məsələləri: reallıqlar və perspektivlər / K. N. Abdullayev. - Bakı : Avropa nəşriyyatı, 2017. - 352 s.
4. Böyük İpək yolu Azərbaycan dövlətinin geostrateji maraqları kontekstində / E. Mirbəşiroğlu, E. Rəcəbov, Ş. İbrahimov [et al.] ; tərt. E. Mirbəşiroğlu ; elmi rəh. A. İ. Mustafayeva ; elmi red. L. Əhmədova ; red. S. Sadıxqızı ; AMEA Hüquq və İnsan Haqları İnstitutu. - Bakı : Elm və təhsil, 2016. - 151 s.
5. İsakov, Hakim Vəlican oğlu. Azərbaycan Respublikasının "Böyük İpək yolu"nun bərpasında iştirakı : 1991-2005-ci illər: monoqrafiya / H. V. İsakov ; layihənin rəh. Y. M. Mahmudov ; elmi red. Q. Ə. Əliyev ; bur. məsul R. Müzəffərli ; AMEA A.A. Bakıxanov adına Tarix İnstitutu. - Bakı : Şərq-Qərb, 2011. - 284 s.
6. Qasımzadə, Rəşad Süleyman oğlu. Avropa İttifaqı və Azərbaycan: "Yeni qonşuluq siyasəti" / R. S. Qasımzadə ; elmi məsl. Ə. Həsənov. - Bakı : Adiloğlu, 2011. - 152 s.