Meeting at the Norwegian Ministry of Transport

Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Norway Mr. Adil Tursunov met with the State Secretary of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Transport Mr. Bent-Joacim Bentzen to discuss the prospects of bilateral cooperation in such areas as transport, logistics, cargo transit and rail, roads, aviation links.

Mr. Adil Tursunov informed Mr. Bent-Joacim Bentzen about the growing role of Kazakhstan as a "golden bridge" between Asia and Europe as the country is taking advantage of its geographical location and geo-economic potential to develop East-West land links.

There are 14 international transport corridors pass through the territory of our country – 6 of them by rail and 8 by road. Over the last ten years, about $30 billion has been invested in Kazakhstan’s transport and logistics infrastructure. At least $40 billion euros will be invested in the next five years additionally.

Ambassador A.Tursunov and the State Secretary B.-J. Bentzen paid special attention to Kazakhstan's participation in the European Union's "Global Gateway" initiative and to Astana's plans for further development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TCITR) or the Middle Corridor. The volume of traffic along the TCITR or the Middle Corridor has tripled in the last two years and is expected to increase even more in the next five years.

Ambassador of Kazakhstan invited the State Secretary of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Transport to participate in the VII International Transport and Logistics Business Forum "New Silk Way" to be held in the capital of Kazakhstan this autumn. They agreed to continue contacts in the future.