Vusal Guliyev
In December 2024, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev authorized a $12 million investment into the Port of Baku to initiate the second phase of its expansion. This phase aims to increase the port’s annual cargo capacity from 15 million to 25 million tons (Interfax, December 25, 2024). The region’s ongoing geopolitical instability, largely due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing Western sanctions, has disrupted its established trade routes (Journal of Transport Geography, May 2025). These geopolitical upheavals underline the importance of Azerbaijan’s position between Europe and Asia as a transit state via the Port of Baku. Azerbaijan’s flagship port is capitalizing on its strategic location along the Silk Road to become a key hub for east–west connectivity.
The Middle Corridor (or the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route), which passes through Azerbaijan, has gained prominence as the only viable land trade route between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Europe that bypasses Russia (Geopolitical Monitor, November 8, 2022; see EDM, January 28). As disruptions to the Northern Corridor push Eurasian countries and businesses to seek alternative trade routes, the Middle Corridor route via Baku has emerged as a crucial lifeline (see EDM, April 19, 2022).
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