Kazakh President pitches for Middle Corridor to boost trade with Europe

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to Brussels this week focused on developing Middle Corridor trade links in the backdrop of the EU’s Global Gateway program.

The joint statement following Kazakh president’s visit stated that the meetings “stressed the strategic importance of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.”

The statement stressed that the EU and Kazakhstan “reaffirmed the importance of cooperation in the field of critical raw materials and expressed their commitment to the implementation of the Roadmap for the implementation of the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the European Union on sustainable raw materials, batteries and the creation of green hydrogen value chains.”


The Middle Corridor serves as the primary land-sea bridge connecting Asia with Europe. EU and Kazakhstan launched a coordination platform in 2024 with a target of moving goods between Central Asia and Europe in 15 days or less.