Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Corridor

Description - Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Transport Corridor (Lapis Lazuli).

The Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Transport Corridor (Lapis Lazuli) has been operational since 2018. It connects Afghanistan with Turkey through Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

1. This corridor is part of the Silk Road and follows the path of the old Silk Road (Lapis Lazuli route)
2. It is the shortest, cheapest and safest route between the Caucasus and Central Asia.
3. The Transit and Transport Cooperation Agreement (Lapis Lazuli Route Agreement) between Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Turkmenistan was signed in Ashgabat in 2017.
4. Countries of the Lapis Lazuli Corridor's area of influence: Armenia, Iran, Russia and Uzbekistan
5. This corridor has been financed almost entirely by the Asian Development Bank.

Advantages of the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Transport Corridor (Lapis Lazuli)

1. Increased foreign trade in the region
2. About 80 percent of products shipped from South Asia to Europe are estimated to travel through the Lapis Lazuli Corridor
3. The Lapis Lazuli corridor supports TIR Carnet (TIR Convention) and e-CMR / Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR, UN)
4. Decrease in tariff barriers
5. Cross-border transport agreement
6. Decrease in logistics costs
7. Cross-border harmonisation

Corridor Itinerary

1. The Lapis Lazuli corridor begins in Afghanistan, on the border with Turkmenistan in two places:
   1. Aqina (north of the Afghan province of Faryab)
   2. Torghundi (western Afghan province of Herat)
2. The corridor crosses all of Turkmenistan (passing through Mary, Tejen, Yashlik, Ashgabat, Gokpede, Baharly, Serdar, Bereket, Kum Dag, Balkanabat) until reaching the port of Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan) in the Caspian Sea
3. The route between the port of Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan) and the port of Baku (Capital of Azerbaijan) is done by sea
4. From Baku the corridor reaches the Georgia-Azerbaijan border, passing through Shamakhi and Ganja
5. From the border the corridor reaches the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi passing through Tbilisi (Capital of Georgia)
6. The corridor heads south until it reaches the Georgia-Turkey border.
7. From the border the corridor connects with the Turkish cities of Kars, Ankara, Mersin and Istanbul.

The Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Transport Corridor (Lapis Lazuli) is part of the CAREC Transport Corridor

The Lapis Lazuli corridor will connect to the Turkey Middle Corridor Project ("Trans-Caspian East-West Trade and Transport Corridor").

Asian regional economic communities related to the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Transport Corridor (Lapis Lazuli)

1. Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Programme (CAREC): Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
2. Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO): Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
3. Commonwealth of Independent States (CEI): Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
4. Organisation for Cooperation between Railways (OSJD): Azerbaijan, Albania, Afghanistan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Vietnam, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, North Korea, South Korea, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Russia, Romania, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Czech Republic and Estonia.
5. Regional Organisation for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM): Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine
6. Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC): Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Belarus
7. EU Eastern Partnership: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine
8. European Union-South Caucasus Relations: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia
9. European Neighbourhood Policy: Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine
10. Black Sea Synergy: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine
11. Azerbaijan is a member of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States
12. Turkey is a member of:
    1. Euro-Mediterranean Partnership
    2. Customs Union with the European Union
    3. Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
    4. Africa-Turkey Partnership
    5. Turkey is an observer country in the Association of Caribbean States (ACS)

Free Trade Agreements related to the Countries of the corridor

1. Turkmenistan
   1. Free Trade Agreements with Armenia, Georgia and with the Eurasian Economic Union
2. Azerbaijan
   1. Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with Russia, Ukraine and Georgia
   2. Free Trade Agreement between Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova
   3. EU Eastern Partnership
3. Georgia
   1. European Union-Georgia Trade Agreement
   2. EFTA-Georgia Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
   3. Free Trade Agreements (FTA) of Georgia with Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
   4. Free Trade Agreement between Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova
4. Turkey
   1. Turkish Free Trade Agreements: EFTA, Tunisia, Egypt, EU, Chile, Africa-Turkey, Israel, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Georgia and Albania.
5. Islamic Trade Preferential System (TPS-OIC)
6. Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)

Main Euro-Asian institutions related to the corridor

1. Boao Forum for Asia
2. Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD)
3. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
4. Asian Development Bank (ADB)
5. Colombo Plan
6. Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

Major Islamic institutions related to the corridor

1. Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OCI)
2. Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)

The main religions of the region of the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Transport Corridor (Lapis Lazuli) are:

1. Islam
2. Orthodox Christianity

The Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Transport Corridor (Lapis Lazuli) belongs to the:

1. Central Eurasian Economic Area
2. Orthodox Economic Area

Related Corridors to the Silk Road

1. Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor
2. Asia-Africa Growth Corridor
3. China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor
4. Almaty-Bishkek Economic Corridor
5. Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA)
6. China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor
7. International North-South Transport Corridor
8. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
9. Nanning-Singapore Economic Corridor
10. India-Chabahar (Iran)-Afghanistan Economic Corridor
11. Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran Transport Corridor (KTAI-ECO)
12. Trans-Siberian Railway (Russia, Mongolia, China, North Korea)

Trans-European Transport Network Corridors

1. North Sea-Baltic Transport Corridor
2. Pan-European Corridor II
3. Pan-European Corridor IX
4. Atlantic Transport Corridor (Portugal-Spain-France-Germany)
5. North Sea-Mediterranean Transport Corridor