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Parliamentarians ponder Middle Corridor alternative

[ July 3, 2025   //   ]

A UK Parliamentary Roundtable on opportunities for the Middle Corridor took place at the House of Lords on 2 July.

It brought together policymakers, trade envoys, infrastructure experts, academics, and business leaders to discuss the growing role of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route that connects China to Europe via Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey –a non-Russian alternative to the traditional Transiberian route. It has gained new urgency in light of the war in Ukraine, the resulting sanctions on Russia, and the increased instability of maritime chokepoints such as the Red Sea.

Prior to 2022, over 85% of China-Europe rail trade passed through Russian territory but Western sanctions have made this route less viable. The Middle Corridor has emerged as a credible alternative with annual cargo volumes surging from 840,000 tonnes in 2021 to 4.5 million tonnes in 2024. According to World Bank projections, this could more than double to 11 million tonnes by 2030, provided that critical investments are made.

The EU has committed €10 billion through its Global Gateway initiative to strengthen infrastructure and connectivity in the region and while the UK has not yet announced specific details of its strategy, there is growing recognition in policy and business circles of its strategic value.

The most recent assessment by a UK official, from Lord Alderdice, the UK’s Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan and Central Asia, said that the route offers a faster, more efficient, and more sustainable alternative to traditional trade corridors – and presents a promising area for UK collaboration, expertise, and investment. His office is working with the EU and other partners to identify projects where UK expertise – and potentially funding – can play a valuable role.

Dr Stepan Stepanenko, an expert in Russian and Eastern European politics, said that aligning early with the Middle Corridor “is a hard-headed way to secure three national interests at once: drain Russian transit revenues by rerouting freight south of the Kremlin’s railways, hedge against Chinese choke-points in critical supply chains, and open a new, high-yield frontier for City capital and professional services.”

He added that, by underwriting projects such as Eurasian Resources Group’s new £15 million gallium plant in Kazakhstan, which is set to make the country the world’s second-largest producer, Britain can lock in a secure stream of a semiconductor metal that Beijing has weaponised through export bans, while simultaneously pumping capital into the Middle Corridor.

He said: “Every container or critical-mineral consignment that shifts south of Russia cuts Kremlin transit revenues and leverage, and reaches Europe without handing the keys to China. Crucially, the City of London’s unmatched expertise in structured finance, insurance and commodity trading means the UK can take an early, profitable seat at the table, recycling its own capital shortfall into high-yield infrastructure of the future and resource deals that align with our sanctions policy and our industrial strategy. In one stroke we insulate our tech sector from supply-chain coercion, deprive Moscow of cash, and give the Treasury a fresh stream of tax revenue.”

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