Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has called for further integration of infrastructure between regional countries to bolster the Middle Corridor trade and logistics network.
The German-Azerbaijani Connectivity Conference 2026 commenced on 6 October in Baku under the title “Mobilising Finance for Infrastructure, Transport, Logistics, Green Energy, and Digitalisation along the Middle Corridor.”
The EU plans to mobilise up to €12 billion ($13.8 billion) in public and private investment to strengthen the Middle Corridor, a key trade route connecting Central Asia and the South Caucasus with European markets.
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan are among 11 countries set to benefit from a $400 million Asian Development Bank investment aimed at cutting freight times and costs along key Central Asian transport corridors.
Georgia has been formally integrated into the European Union's Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), bringing Anaklia Deep-Sea Port, Georgian Railway's main line and the East-West Highway into the network's expanded framework.
Georgia’s busiest sea gateway has reached its capacity limit, adding urgency to plans for a major expansion of Poti port as the country seeks to strengthen its role in the Middle Corridor trade route between Asia and Europe.
Georgia’s International Maritime Forum has closed in Batumi with officials setting out investment targets, timelines and technical plans aimed at expanding the Middle Corridor and strengthening the country’s role in global trade.
Kazakhstan is stepping up investment in the Middle Corridor as rising freight volumes and demand for more diverse trade links drive the rapid expansion of the route connecting Asia and Europe.
Azerbaijan’s strategic rise is turning it from a transit state into a regional rule-setter, with the Middle Corridor giving Baku growing influence far beyond its size, analyst Ahmad Alili says.
Central Asia has become a major focus for Eurasian transport investment, with $71.7 billion committed to 114 projects, according to the Eurasian Development Bank’s 2026 Transport Observatory.
Kazakhstan has begun building the Beineu-Saksaulsk highway, a new Middle Corridor link expected to shorten freight journeys between China and Europe by around 1,000 kilometres and reduce delivery times by up to three days.
Georgia has wrapped up one of its busiest periods of foreign policy activity in years, with almost all of it focused on Central Asia.
Rising trade across the Caspian Sea is strengthening Georgia’s role as a logistics hub and could help the country develop higher-value industries, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Georgian officials have returned from Rotterdam with new ideas for multimodal logistics, but after years of delays, the Anaklia Deepwater Port still faces significant challenges before it becomes a reality.
The Anaklia deep-sea port project has returned to Georgia's strategic agenda under a fundamentally different model. The move reflects the growing importance of Georgia's role in the Middle Corridor following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze arrived in Dushanbe on 19 June 2026 for the first official visit by a Georgian head of government to Tajikistan, concluding a trip that produced a joint communiqué, multiple bilateral agreements and a new commission to deepen economic cooperation.
The European Parliament has adopted one of its strongest resolutions on Georgia to date, calling for the release of political prisoners, backing sanctions against senior officials and warning that continued democratic decline could jeopardise the country's EU ambitions and visa-free travel regime.
Baku Energy Week has opened in Azerbaijan, bringing together global energy leaders to discuss energy security, green energy and regional cooperation, underscoring the country's growing strategic role in Eurasian connectivity.
Senior U.S. State Department officials spent three days in Georgia meeting ministers, opposition figures and Church leaders as Washington intensifies its strategic engagement across the South Caucasus.
The European Union entered 2026 under conditions of exceptioal tensions in the energy markets. Due to the upheaval from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, unrest in the Middle East with the closure of Strait of Hormuz, and fierce competetion for LNG , the whole new geopolitical landscape has reshaped.
The proposal emerged during the first state visit by a Kenyan president to Kazakhstan, highlighting efforts by both countries to strengthen economic ties and expand access to new markets.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 15th of May, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Reports that Emmanuel Macron planned to cross from Armenia into Türkiye via their closed border - and was reportedly blocked following consultations with Azerbaijan - have sparked renewed debate on South Caucasus diplomacy.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas’s planned visits to Yerevan and Baku framed the 8th European Political Community summit on 4 May, as European leaders focused on fragile South Caucasus peace efforts and rising geopolitical tensions.
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