Photo: Press service of the President of Kazakhstan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 25. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has proposed launching a pilot digital transport corridor between Kazakhstan and Russia to further develop logistics and boost bilateral trade.

According to the press service of the President of Kazakhstan, Tokayev made the proposal while addressing the 22nd Kazakhstan-Russia Interregional Cooperation Forum in Omsk.

The president said Kazakhstan and Russia have unique opportunities to shape Eurasia's transport and logistics architecture. "Kazakhstan and Russia, which share the world's longest continuous land border, are destined to play a leading role in developing the transport and logistics architecture of the Eurasian continent," Tokayev said.

He noted the steady growth in cargo transportation between the two countries. According to Tokayev, rail freight traffic reached 92 million tons last year, while road freight transport totaled nearly 8.5 million tons. In the first quarter of this year, road transit more than doubled to 4.3 million tons.

The Kazakh president proposed moving to a new stage of digitalization in the transport sector. "Based on the existing digital platforms, we propose launching a pilot digital transport corridor, 'Kazakhstan-Russia,' along one of the busiest routes," he said.
Tokayev noted that digital integration of the two countries' transport systems would help expand trade and transit flows.

"Effective digital integration of our transport and logistics systems, along with the wider use of new technologies, will allow us to increase bilateral trade, expand transit flows, and comprehensively strengthen our economic ties," he said.

The president also recalled the first cross-border trial run of autonomous trucks between the two countries, which took place in May. "This successful pilot clearly demonstrated that Kazakhstan-Russia cooperation in the transport sector is confidently entering a new technological stage," Tokayev added.