On 16 January 2026, a working meeting was held in Astana at the office of the International Association “Trans-Caspian International Transport Route” (TITR Association) with representatives of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the French public agency Expertise France.

The participants discussed prospects for cooperation within the framework of the new European Union program “Capacity Development of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor (TCTC),” which is implemented with financial support from the EU, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ), and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France.

The program is aimed at strengthening transport connectivity and improving the regulatory framework in the countries of Central Asia through the harmonization of customs procedures and the promotion of sustainable approaches in logistics.

As a result of the meeting, key areas of cooperation were identified, including the promotion of the route in European countries. The parties agreed to continue joint work on further elaboration of these areas.

For reference: The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) is a federal enterprise that supports the Government of Germany and other donors in the field of international cooperation in achieving sustainable economic development goals and operates worldwide.

Expertise France is a French public agency for international technical cooperation and is part of the AFD Group. It is a key Team Europe partner under the Global Gateway initiative.