Azernews.Az

By Rasana Gasimova

Azerbaijan and Bulgaria have discussed cooperation on cargo transportation to Europe along the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars route and further by ferries across the Black Sea through the territory of Bulgaria.

The issue was high on the agend of the meeting between Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Velik Zanchev and the Head of Directorate for European Coordination and International Cooperation under the Ministry Nadezhda Bukhova with the chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC Javid Gurbanov on December 9.

Javid Gurbanov informed the guests about the East-West and South-West transport corridors, including an important element of these projects - the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway (BTK). During the meeting, the parties discussed proposals for cooperation on cargo transportation to Europe along the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars route and then ferries along the Black Sea through the territory of Bulgaria. Speaking about the modernization of the railway infrastructure in Bulgaria, Velik Zanchev said that the upgrade is planned to be completed by 2025.

Nadezhda Bukhova noted that there’s an enormous potential for strengthening bilateral economic ties. She also indicated interest in cooperation with Azerbaijan in the framework of international transport and transit corridors.

Then the parties exchanged views on the prospects of cooperation that align with the mutual interests.

826 meters long Baku-Tblilisi-Kars (BTK) railway was put into operation in October 2017. It was constructed on the basis a Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement.

The main purpose of the project is to improve economic relations between the three countries and gain foreign direct investment by connecting Europe and Asia.

Located on traditional trade routes between Europe and Asia with a relatively well-developed transport network, and having a very good bilateral and multilateral cooperation with its neighboring countries in both Europe and Asia, Bulgaria attaches great importance to the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line as the shortest route connecting Europe with Asia.

The country plans to transport agricultural products, petroleum and chemical products and other goods via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK).

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz