Wilder Alejandro Sánchez
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Kathleen Tai visited Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in mid-June, the first time a USTR has ever visited the Central Asian region. There, the U.S. co-chaired a U.S.-Central Asia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council meeting in Astana. The goal? Support the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), better known as the Middle Corridor, which aims to connect the region with the West, bypassing Russia via a route across the Caspian and through the Caucasus. In doing so, the region hopes to boost Western investment for more prosperity but also to balance off China and Russia.
Making the Middle Corridor efficient remains a challenge, and the World Bank has identified ten actions that can triple trade along the corridor by 2030. Winnie Wang, program leader for Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank, discussed these suggestions at the recent Trans Caspian Forum in Washington, D.C. Specific proposals aimed at the Central Asian nodes and arteries of the Corridor include bypasses to reduce congestion in urban centers, a new railway to connect Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and acquiring modern equipment to increase berth capacity at Kazakhstan’s Aktau port.
The World Bank and others also strive to synchronize regional institutions and improve border management by digitizing systems to minimize wait times as cargo clears customs services. These improvements will have the added benefit of preventing extra-regional powers from pitting local actors against one another. The World Bank views the corridor as the “backbone for Central Asian and South Caucasus economic development.”
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