Kazakhstan and Armenia discuss linking Middle Corridor with Trump Route

Cargo from Kazakhstan may get another route through the South Caucasus — via Armenia. How to access this route was discussed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Asel Zhanasova during negotiations with Armenian colleagues. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

During her working visit, Zhanasova met with Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. The parties discussed how to link the Trump Route TRIPP with the Middle Corridor, along which cargo from Kazakhstan travels across the Caspian to Azerbaijan and further west. The Ministry of Transport believes this will give carriers more delivery options and help attract additional cargo.

TRIPP stands for Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.

Under the project, roads and railways through southern Armenia are to connect the main part of Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan — the Azerbaijani autonomy separated from the rest of the country by Armenia. The project was announced after talks between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House in August 2025. In June 2026, Armenia and the United States signed a framework agreement on cooperation on the project.

Earlier, Kursiv wrote that in October Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed linking the Middle Corridor with TRIPP at a summit of Central Asian countries. He also spoke about Kazakhstan's interest in the project at a briefing with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

"The conjugation of these strategic corridors with the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route and the North–South corridor meets the interests of both countries," Tokayev said at the briefing.

In October, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on developing the Middle Corridor. The countries agreed to increase the capacity of ports and railways, simplify border and customs procedures, and introduce electronic cargo tracking.

In January–August 2026, container traffic along the Middle Corridor grew by 58% compared to the same period last year and reached 44.2 thousand TEU — twenty-foot equivalent units, according to KTZ data.