Speaking at the summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries held on September 16 in Samarkand, President Mr. Ilham Aliyev spoke about Azerbaijan's active participation in the launch of regional communication projects such as East-West and North-South transport corridors. he emphasized that it has the ability to load tons and the possibility of increasing this indicator to 25 million tons during the year. At the same time, the head of state noted that the transit through the territory of Azerbaijan increased by 50 percent in the first 7 months of the current year.

     Regarding the Baku International Sea Trade Port, whose activity was touched upon by the head of state in his speech, I would also like to mention that the development of this huge regional and international important infrastructure has always been in the center of attention of our head of state. At the meeting dedicated to the results of the first half of the current year, the head of the country declared the importance of starting the construction of the second phase of the mentioned trade port and said that the increase in the volume of cargo transportation over the Caspian Sea is already a reality. "According to the information given to me recently, we no longer have the capacity to exceed the loads passing through our territory. Because we built the international trade port according to the cargoes available at that time and completed the first phase. Now it is necessary to move to the second phase soon," said the head of state, and he also drew attention to the increasing importance of Azerbaijan's transit.

     All this means that the projects implemented by the President Mr. Ilham Aliyev with foresight are already giving their successful results in accordance with the requirements of the time. The geopolitical situation in the world requires the use of the safest and most profitable transport corridor for export and import countries.

     The increase in the volume of goods transported through the territory of our country shows that Azerbaijan is the most suitable country to undertake this mission in the current conditions. For this reason, the head of our state highly values ​​the activity of the Baku Shipbuilding Plant at the same time. Also, re-examining the possibilities of this enterprise and increasing the production volume will surely strengthen the position of Azerbaijan as a transit country.

     Azerbaijan has wide opportunities for cooperation and partnership with the SCO within the framework of the "Middle Corridor" and "One Belt, One Road" projects. This was discussed in detail in the meeting of President Ilham Aliyev with the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping in Samarkand. The head of state said: "Azerbaijan plays an important role in the transport process between China and Europe, and the transport and logistics capabilities of our country are of great importance in international cargo transportation. "Azerbaijan fully supports the increase of train and other cargo transportation from China to Europe and vice versa."

     By the way, Azerbaijan, which is an active supporter of the creation of a wide economic corridor on the historical Silk Road, also provides a reliable guarantee for the effective organization of transit transportation of goods to various destinations by passing through the territory of our country in comparison with other corridors, safe and timely delivery under more favorable conditions, and the volume of transit transportation is many times higher. allows it to increase.

     The geographic location of the liberated Karabakh region and the increased access to Europe and Asia from the territory will strengthen Azerbaijan's active participation in international transport-communication and corridor projects. This situation will further increase the economic and political influence of our country as a strategic and reliable state of the Caspian-Black Sea basin and the South Caucasus.

     By the way, in five months, 4 million 560.5 thousand tons of loading and unloading were carried out by sea ports, of which 4 million 293.5 thousand tons or 94.1 percent were transit cargoes.

     In his speech at the summit, the head of the country also pointed out that Azerbaijan has the largest civilian cargo fleet in the Caspian Sea with 52 ships, and that the Baku Shipyard can produce all types of ships. At the same time, the head of state stated that 19,000 kilometers of highways and 1,400 kilometers of railways have been built or overhauled in Azerbaijan in the last 20 years, and that thousands of kilometers of highways and hundreds of kilometers of railways have been built in the territories freed from occupation after the historic victory in the Second Karabakh War. also mentioned.

     President Ilham Aliyev then said: "Azerbaijan has one of the largest civil air cargo fleets in our region with 18 aircraft. By the end of 2024, the total number of international airports in the country will be increased from the current 7 to 9.

     The settlement of the Karabakh conflict at the end of 2020 created new opportunities for the development of transport and communication projects in our region. After the opening of the Zangezur Corridor, the transport opportunities of the countries of the region