Turkey ‘making great efforts’ to connect Europe to Asia

By Merve Ozlem Cakir

TURKMENBASHI, Turkmenistan

With its mega projects, Turkey has been making great efforts to connect Asia to Europe through the Lapis Lazuli transport corridor, the Turkish transport and infrastructure minister said on Wednesday.

Addressing the International Conference of Ministers of Transport of the States Parties in Turkmenistan's Turkmenbashi, Cahit Turhan said trade volume between the two continents is $1.5 billion per day.

Turhan said that the Europe-Asia trade volume is expected to reach $740 billion by 2025, adding the development of transportation between the two continents is crucial to reach the goal.

He said the development of transport infrastructures is "important but not sufficient."

Transforming certain routes into transport corridors is only possible by facilitating transportation developing multimodal alternatives and logistics facilities, he added.

Mehmet Han Cakiyev, deputy chair for Turkmenistan's council of ministers, for his part said activities for revitalizing the Silk Road have increased regionally and nationally.

In November 2017, five countries -- Turkey, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia -- signed the Lapis Lazuli Corridor deal, a major international trade and transport corridor project linking Kabul with Europe via Turkmenistan and Turkey.