(MENAFN- Afghanistan Times) AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: The first transit cargo arrived at the Baku International Sea Trade Port via the Lapis Lazuli international route, Trend reports.
Speaking at the ceremony dedicated to the arrival of the
first cargo to Azerbaijan via this route, Ambassador of Afghanistan to
Azerbaijan Khairullah Spelenai expressed gratitude to the government of
Azerbaijan for comprehensive support and assistance in the implementation of
the project.
He noted that the Lapis Lazuli corridor will be expanded and
Afghanistan will make every effort to make this route the most important one
from Afghanistan to Europe.
In turn, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral noted
the importance of the route for Afghanistan and other countries. He said that
this route will turn into an important corridor that will provide access of
Afghan goods to world markets. The ambassador noted that Lapis Lazuli is of
strategic importance for Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Nine trucks left Afghanistan's Herat city on December 13 and
arrived in Baku along this corridor Dec. 25. The total volume of cargo is 175
tons.
The cargoes are transported via trains and vehicles through
Afghanistan's Torghundi city in Herat province and supplied to Turkmenistan's
Ashgabat city and from there to the Turkmenbashi International Sea Port, as
part of the Lapis Lazuli international route.
The corridor stretches to Azerbaijan's Baku city, then
through Georgia's Tbilisi city to Turkey's Ankara city with branches to
Georgian Poti and Batumi, then from Ankara to Istanbul.
The project budget, which aims at facilitating transit
logistics and simplification of customs procedures, is estimated at $2 billion.
The large-scale project is aimed at increasing the economic
integration of the region and increasing the trade volumes.
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