LONDON -- Recent intergovernmental talks and deals over the Trans-Caspian Middle Corridor highlight the importance of the trade route at a time of increased geopolitical tensions, with Central Asian countries being courted by Europe and China.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was welcomed to France in a state visit in November, pointing to the country's importance to the European Union's trade policy. This was followed weeks later by a meeting in Kazakhstan's capital Astana between the French ambassador to the country and the head of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route Association, where the two discussed progress on the Middle Corridor and its integration into the European railway system.
