Ambassador: Hungary interested in connecting to BTK
By Trend
Hungary is interested in connecting to Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway, Hungarian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Viktor Szederkenyi told Trend.
For Hungary every infrastructural project is important, which connects Europe and Asia, said the envoy, adding that in this regard, the country attaches great importance to Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.
"We consider that the BTK is a global, open project, and of course Hungarian side is interested in participating and connecting to it, because this railway line will shorten the transportation distance and time to and from Asia. This issue is regularly on the agenda of our political meetings," said Szederkenyi.
Further, the diplomat pointed out that the Alat Sea Trade Port project is examined by the Hungarian side, as well as the operating conditions of the free trade zone established in the port.
As the Alat harbor is operating at the intersection of the North-South and East-West transport corridors, Hungary sees that it is becoming the multimodal hub of the Caspian region, noted Szederkenyi.
"In general, we want Hungary to become Azerbaijan’s gateway to the EU markets, we also believe that Azerbaijan – through its multi-vectoral infrastructure projects – may become our gateway to the larger region," said the ambassador.
On October 30, 2017, a solemn ceremony on the occasion of the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was held at the Baku International Sea Trade Port.
The BTK railway is built on the basis of the Azerbaijani-Georgian-Turkish intergovernmental agreement. At the initial stage, the volume of freight traffic will be at the level of 6.5 million tons of cargo, as well as up to one million passengers will be transported through this railway.
The Port in Alat, which will become the biggest port on the Caspian Sea, is an important part of Azerbaijan's transport infrastructure.
The free economic zone is being created in Alat settlement upon the Azerbaijani president’s order signed in March 2016. The territory of the new Baku International Sea Trade Port is also included in the free economic zone.
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