TDT Forum Spotlights Orta Koridor's Growth as Trade Dynamics Shift

Held in Tashkent, the forum assembled transport ministers, infrastructure investors and logistics operators from across the Turkic states region. Among the themes: how the Orta Koridor and Zengezur Corridor are becoming "rising stars" of Eurasian freight as supply-chains reshape under geopolitical pressures.

TDT Elders Council Chair Binali Yıldırım emphasised that although the total trade volume among Turkic states exceeds 1 trillion USD, intra-regional trade remains stuck at around 60–70 billion USD – a gap driven in part by insufficient logistics integration and high transportation costs.

Key Action Areas

Participants identified several key action-areas:

• Harmonise freight tariffs and reduce non-tariff transport costs
• Develop integrated multimodal corridors combining rail, road and sea routes
• Mobilise Turkish and international private-sector investment in Central Asian transport hubs
• Position the Orta Koridor not just as transit, but as a production-enabled logistics ecosystem

The forum also recorded MoUs with logistics firms and industry associations to accelerate corridor capacity from <5 million tonnes a year to ~20 million tonnes within five years. Observers noted this would require near-term investments in rail-road terminals, seamless customs protocols and digital freight platforms.