Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday underlined the importance of the Caspian-transit East-West Middle Corridor, calling it the "modern-day equivalent of Silk Road."
During a press conference in Kazakhstan, Erdogan said the corridor's importance is being better understood with each passing day.
He vowed that Ankara will continue promoting the corridor with Kazakhstan and other partners for cargo shipments and transporting energy resources to the West.
"We wish to transport larger volumes of oil from Kazakhstan, one of the world’s leading crude oil exporters, to global markets via our country," he added.
Erdogan made the remarks in Kazakhstan, where he was received by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in an official ceremony in Astana.
After the arrival ceremony and introduction of delegations, the two leaders held one-on-one talks and later co-chaired the sixth meeting of the Türkiye-Kazakhstan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.
During the visit, Tokayev awarded Erdogan the “Khoja Ahmed Yasawi Order,” in a ceremony following their talks. Erdogan said he was honoured to be the first recipient of the distinction, calling it a sign of high appreciation for Türkiye and its people, and thanked Tokayev for strengthening bilateral ties.
The two leaders also inaugurated the Khoja Ahmed Yasawi Primary School, built by Kazakhstan in the Nurdagi district of Türkiye’s Gaziantep province, following the devastating February 6 2023 earthquakes.
