Today, developing international freight transport, ensuring supply chain resilience, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are becoming interconnected objectives. The "Global Green Shipping Corridors Initiative" enables the integration of transport infrastructure, clean energy, digitalization, and environmental sustainability through practical projects.

For landlocked Uzbekistan, the efficiency of international corridors is of particular importance. The fast and reliable delivery of goods to their destination largely depends on coordination with transit countries. Every extra hour spent in transit and at the border translates into additional costs, higher fuel consumption, and harmful atmospheric emissions.

This heightens the need to ensure environmental sustainability alongside economic efficiency in the transport sector. Specifically, in line with its updated Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, Uzbekistan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP by 50 percent by 2035 compared to 2010 levels. Digitalizing transport, streamlining border-crossing procedures, and expanding low-carbon freight transport will help achieve this goal.

Transport cooperation between Uzbekistan and Türkiye provides a solid foundation for jointly developing practical solutions in this area.

In the first nine months of 2026, freight volume between the two countries totaled 700,000 tons. Of this total freight volume, more than 80 percent was transported by road. This high share of road transport highlights the critical importance of improving border-crossing processes.

At the same time, border-crossing delays in international transport lead to longer delivery times, additional costs, and increased fuel consumption. This negatively affects the quality preservation of perishable goods in particular, driving up their production costs as well as harmful atmospheric emissions. Therefore, streamlining border procedures and coordinating transport operations among transit countries are vital for boosting the economic and environmental efficiency of transport corridors.

In this regard, the Memorandum of Understanding on International Transport Corridors and the Improvement of Existing Practices, signed on January 29, 2026, in Ankara between the transport ministries of Uzbekistan and Türkiye, holds special significance.

The memorandum designates "green" transport solutions as a standalone area of cooperation. It envisions supporting rail transport as a low-carbon alternative mode of transport, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and developing the Middle Corridor into an eco-friendly logistics route. These objectives directly align with the goals of the "Global Green Shipping Corridors Initiative".

The potential of the Middle Corridor, specifically highlighted in the memorandum, is also reflected in growing freight volumes. The volume of Uzbek cargo transported along this route doubled compared to 2021 levels, reaching 1.2 million tons in 2025. Its share in freight transport with European Union countries rose from 12 percent to 28 percent.

Turkiye's accession to the Protocol of the Five-Party Meeting on the Development of the "Asia-Pacific Countries – China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan – Turkmenistan – Azerbaijan – Georgia – Türkiye – Europe" International Multimodal Transport Corridor (CASCA+) plays a major role in achieving this result.

Under the protocol, the annual tariff discounts offered for rail transport are boosting the corridor's competitiveness. Consistently maintaining these discounts, expanding block-train services, and coordinating port operations will help attract cargo flows to low-carbon transport.

Notably, at the Organization of Turkic States summit held in Ankara this October, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized the need to transform the Middle Corridor and its adjacent transport routes into an integrated economic system. To this end, he proposed establishing and jointly managing a "Network of Logistics Complexes of the Turkic States".

Digitalization also remains an indispensable tool for "green" logistics in expediting border crossings and coordinating cargo flows. Together with Türkiye, Uzbekistan was among the first in the world to introduce the e-Permit electronic permit system, which is now being successfully used with China as well. Furthermore, in partnership with Azerbaijan, eTIR technology was implemented for the first time globally, and work is currently underway to adopt the e-CMR electronic consignment note.

Concrete practical steps are needed to build on the results achieved and address the aforementioned challenges. Additionally, the Joint Working Group, established under a memorandum between the transport ministries of Uzbekistan and Türkiye, serves as a vital mechanism for pursuing mutually beneficial goals. Through the joint efforts of this working group and the relevant authorities, it is proposed to strengthen cooperation in three priority areas.

The first area involves introducing a dedicated fast-track mechanism based on the "green corridor" principle for perishable goods along the Türkiye–Iran–Turkmenistan–Uzbekistan route.

The second area focuses on launching container block-train services between Türkiye and Uzbekistan along this route and developing cooperation mechanisms to conduct pilot shipments.

The third area entails exploring with partner countries the possibility of evaluating transport operations along the Middle Corridor and CASCA+ as a "green" pilot route within the framework of the "Global Green Shipping Corridors Initiative." This envisions coordinating rail, road, and maritime transport, pre-booking spaces on ferries, and introducing an electronic queuing system.

In conclusion, translating agreements into concrete projects and strengthening cooperation with transit countries will help jointly reduce transit times, costs, and greenhouse gas emissions. In this regard, Uzbekistan remains open to dialogue, sharing expertise, and implementing joint initiatives.

1. Abdugapparov, Leading Specialist at the Center for the Study of Transport and Logistics Development Problems under the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan