The 3rd Meeting of the Heads of Railway Administrations of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was convened on 31 October 2025 in Bishkek.
The Meeting was attended by H.E. Mr. Almaz Turgunbaev, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communication of the Kyrgyz Republic, H.E. Mr. Azamat Sakiev, General Director of State Enterprise “NC “Kyrgyz Temir Zholu”, H.E. Mr. Khikmatulla Rakhmetov, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of JSC “O’zbekiston temir yo’llari”, H.E. Mr. Nijat Guliyev, Deputy Chairman of “Azərbaycan Dəmir Yolları” CJSC, H.E. Mr. Anuar Akhmetzhanov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of NC “Kazakhstan Temir Zholy” JSC, and H.E. Mr. Çetin Altun, Member of the Board and Deputy Director General of Turkish State Railways Transport Joint Stock Company, as well as H.E. Dr. Mirvokhid Azimov, Deputy Secretary General of the OTS.
In his address, Dr. Mirvokhid Azimov emphasized the importance of implementing the commitments outlined in the Garabagh, Bishkek, Budapest and Gabala Declarations. He reaffirmed the instructions of the Heads of State to strengthen the Middle Corridor through closer cooperation with international partners and the adoption of efficient transit procedures.
During the Meeting, the Parties exchanged views on common issues and challenges faced by railway administrations and relevant institutions of the Turkic States. The special attention was paid to the development of container and multimodal transportation along the Middle Corridor.
The Parties also discussed the implementation of the Joint Action Plan (“Roadmap”) for the realization of the OTS Transport Connectivity Programme for 2023-2027.
The Parties noted that the Middle Corridor continues to expand its strategic significance. In 2024 cargo volumes along the corridor increased by 62%, reaching 4.5 million tons, compared to 2.7 million tons in 2023. Ongoing measures are expected to increase the route’s capacity to 10 million tons per year by 2027.
The Parties agreed to establish an ad-hoc Working Group composed of representatives of the railway administrations and tourism authorities of the Member States to explore the possibility of launching touristic passenger trains among the Turkic States and beyond.
The Meeting concluded with the signing of the Protocol of the 3rd Meeting of the Heads of Railway Administrations of the OTS.
