The European Union has announced that it wants to invest 10 billion euros in the development of the Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor. This corridor is to connect the states of Central Asia with the European peninsula via the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus region (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia). The information was provided by the European Union delegation that was in Tajikistan between May 30 and 31.
As part of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, the European Commission is developing a regional transport program to support the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor.
EU DELEGATION
The European investments are added to the investments of the project’s international partners.
It is important to note that the Russian Federation is vehemently opposed to this route because it diminishes its voice in Eurasian trade cooperation. At the moment a considerable amount of goods are still transported from China and Central Asia to Europe via the Russian Federation as an alternative to the sea route through the Suez Canal.
Moscow is trying to promote the Northern Route, a sea route that runs along northern Russia through the Arctic Ocean, but the war in Ukraine has canceled any international involvement (except only partial Chinese involvement) in developing this route. Another possible route is the one that crosses Iran, but here too, the European Union has a series of complaints.
This Middle Corridor is heavily promoted by the United States of America and sold as a potential means of increasing trade to both Central Asian and European Union partners. The bonus for Washington is that it thus completely excludes the Russian Federation from a significant portion of Eurasian trade activity.
This Trans-Caspian route is however part of China’s project to interconnect East Asia and Western Europe. It is one of the three main routes, the first is through Russia, the second is the one through the Caspian Sea and the third is the one through Pakistan and Iran. The EU delegation considers this route as ”Reviving the Silk Road”.