Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov travelled to Moscow to attend a meeting on March 4th with the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Mishustin.
High on the agenda, was the North-South international transport corridor and in particular, the section of railway interlinking Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran.
Russia and Kazakhstan are connected by the longest land border in the world spanning over 7,500 km. Noting that “the most important transit routes in Eurasia run through our countries”, the Russian prime minister highlighted the huge potential for cooperation in transport and logistics.
Late in February, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Transport, Maksat Kaliakparov reported on plans by the railway administrations of Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan to launch a joint venture to improve services and reduce cargo delivery time along the North–South Transport Corridor.
In 2023 the volume of cargo transported via this route amounted to 2.1 million tons; an increase of 4% compared to 2022. By 2027, the transport potential of the entire corridor rise to between 6 – 10 million tons per year. Mr Bektenov furthermore stated that Kazakh and Russian business entities are currently implementing 135 projects worth $26.5 billion.
To maintain progress and facilitate transit between the two countries, the Kazakh prime minister stressed the need to speed up work on checkpoints on the Kazakh-Russian border. According to plans, 29 of the 30 checkpoints are due to be modernized by 2027.
