A conference called "Middle Corridor: A safe transit route between Italy, Azerbaijan and Central Asia" was held in Rome, the capital of Italy.

Representatives of the Italian parliament and academic circles, ambassadors of Central Asian countries in Rome, analysts and experts participated in the conference initiated by the Italian senator Francesco Silvestro.

The Chair of the Bicameral Committee on Regional Affairs in the Italian Senate, Senator Francesco Silvestro, the Head of the Italian Asia Institute, Mario Morgoni, and the Chair of the European Union Policy Commission of the Senate, Senator Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata, said in their speeches that the Middle Corridor has made an important contribution to freight transport between China and the "old continent" and noted that the current geopolitical situation has repeatedly increased the economic and geopolitical importance of this corridor.

Italy's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Edmondo Cirielli, noted the importance of the Middle Corridor for Italy, which plays a decisive role in the expansion of transport and trade relations between China and Europe. The deputy minister said that Italy supports projects that serve to increase cargo transportation in the China-Europe direction, and that the countries of Central Asia and the Caspian Sea play an important role in this regard.

Edmondo Cirielli noted that Azerbaijan is the largest trade partner of Italy in the South Caucasus region, as well as the main supplier of oil and natural gas.

Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Italy Rashad Aslanov underlined that our country plays a unifying role in the Middle Corridor and contributes to the work of the corridor with the implemented regional and international projects.

Rashad Aslanov said that Azerbaijan, one of the main links of the Middle Corridor, has taken important measures to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the corridor. Thus, in recent years, large-scale investments have been made in this direction and this part of the corridor has been improved.

The diplomat emphasized the importance of all transport projects in the East-West and North-South directions, including Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and Baku Port, in increasing the transit potential and logistics capabilities of our country. The ambassador mentioned that Azerbaijan is able to support the implementation and operation of all transport projects: "In recent years, there has been a significant increase in indicators related to the transit cargo circulation through the territory of Azerbaijan. Thus, the volume of transit cargo passing through our country increased by 75 percent last year. "Azerbaijan is capable of further increasing those indicators and continues its efforts in this direction with the countries along the corridor."

Fabio Indeo, a geopolitical analyst at the University of Siena, said the Middle Corridor is geographically the shortest route between Western China and Europe. He underlined that the trains moving along this corridor deliver goods from China to Europe in an average of 20-25 days, which is one of the main advantages of the transport corridor.

The ambassadors of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in Italy spoke about their countries' cargo transportation potential and transit opportunities.

It was noted that the Middle Corridor is one of the shortest routes between China and Europe through Central Asia. This corridor offers opportunities that have the potential to significantly impact the economic landscape of those countries and the wider region. Also, significant progress has been made as a result of continuous efforts to expand and improve the Middle Corridor.