Interview: SCO Astana summit strengthens mutual trust, boosts economic development among member countries, says Kazakh expert

ASTANA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- A just-concluded summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held here enhanced mutual trust in the region and further promoted the economic development of the member states, a Kazakh expert has said.

"Wherever there is trust and stability, there will always be economic development. This is a key factor that drives the development of our corridor. We believe in this and we will jointly work towards this," Gaidar Abdikerimov, secretary-general of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) International Association, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

He said he believes that the TITR has become a vital artery for transporting goods from Southeast Asia and China to Europe.

Stretching over 11,000 km, the TITR starts from China's port of Lianyungang, running through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia to Türkiye and European countries, Abdikerimov said.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by China in 2013 is inspiring, especially for the transportation and logistics industries, Abdikerimov said. "We have seen new opportunities for the revival of the ancient Silk Road," he said.

He believed that after more than 10 years of development, the BRI has fully demonstrated its feasibility and has had a positive impact on the development of the TITR.

At the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held last year, China announced eight major steps to support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, including participating in the construction of the TITR, he said, adding that China's support is practical and effective, bringing good news to the construction of the TITR.

According to Abdikerimov, 2024 turned out to be a good year for the TITR, as it has managed to increase the volume of container trains from China by 10.5 times.

"We only transported eight container trains within a period of five months last year. In contrast, we transported 85 container trains within five months in 2024," he said.

The official throughput capacity of the TITR is 6 million tons of cargo per year, said Abdikerimov, adding that the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, which was held in the Kazakh capital on July 4, has undoubtedly injected impetus into the future development of the route.