Where and when did the „Middle Corridor'' emerge

2026-07-05

The „Middle Corridor'' was formed gradually, over several decades. The term "Middle Corridor" did not appear after 2022, nor in China. The oldest confirmed sources indicate that it appeared in Turkish strategic documents in the late 2000s.

1. 1990s — TRACECA

The foundation of the modern concept was laid in 1993, when the European Union launched the TRACECA initiative (Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia).

Its goal was to:

● Connect Europe and Central Asia;

● Create a new trade route through the Caucasus;

● Reduce dependence on Russian routes.

2. 2000s — Infrastructure Creation

During this period, such projects as:

● Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline;

● South Caucasus gas pipeline;

● Later — Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.

At that time, the term “Middle Corridor” was not widely used, although it was this infrastructure that created its foundation.

3. 2013 — China’s initiative

In 2013, Xi Jinping announced the “Belt and Road” initiative. After that, the “Middle Corridor” was considered one of the alternative Eurasian routes:

● Parallel to the Northern Corridor (via Russia);

● Parallel to the Southern Corridor (via Iran).

4. From 2022 — special importance

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many international companies have reduced transit through Russia. As a result:

● Interest in the Middle Corridor has increased;

● The European Union, Central Asian countries, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey have begun to develop this route more actively.

A multi-state project

● The TRACECA initiative came mainly from the European Union.

● China later included this route in the context of the Belt and Road.

● Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey have been actively developing it as a common transport corridor.

Therefore, the “Middle Corridor” is a multi-state project, which was developed at different stages by different players and whose importance has increased significantly over time.

What is confirmed:

● Analytical studies write that “Turkey first formulated the concept of the Middle Corridor in the late 2000s.” It is also noted that Turkey officially called it: Trans-Caspian East-West Middle Corridor Initiative.

● The analytical publication Turkey Analyst writes: In 2009, the Turkish government formulated the concept and began to use the term “Middle Corridor”. A Turkish journalist and foreign policy analyst in an article for T24 writes: The name “Orta Koridor” was introduced in 2009 by Mehmet Fatih Ceylan, a high-ranking diplomat at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, who oversaw the South Caucasus and Eastern Europe direction.

● September 2013 — After the announcement of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, the term begins to be used more widely in international analytics.

● 2014 — The opening of the Trans-Kazakh Railway gave a new impetus to the development of the route.

● On November 14, 2015, Turkey and China signed a memorandum linking the "Middle Corridor" initiative with China's "Belt and Road" initiative.

● 2017 — After the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, the term became widely used in the international media.

P.S. "Middle Corridor" is a concept politically formulated by Turkey, which was based on the infrastructure ideas of the European Union, and later China's trade needs gave it global significance.

Zurab Maghradze, DBA

 

Sources:

● fpri.org; ● indsr.org.tw; ● mfa.gov.tr

● caspianpolicy.org; ● turkeyanalyst.org

● t24.com.tr; ● search.trdizin.gov.tr