President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has proposed optimizing trade flows within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Working closely with international partners, Kazakhstan is actively developing a network of international multimodal logistics centers across Russia, China, Azerbaijan, and other countries, as well as terminal facilities in Romania and Hungary.

“We invite our partners to join these efforts in order to optimize trade flows and reduce transportation costs,” Tokayev said on Sunday at a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in St. Petersburg.

The President emphasized that the development of Kazakhstan’s maritime infrastructure along the Caspian Sea coast opens up broad opportunities for cooperation. Modern container facilities and logistics hubs at key Caspian ports are capable of handling growing volumes of cargo traffic.

“In this regard, it is important to accelerate the entry into force of the shipping agreement, which would give additional momentum to strengthening the transit potential of all members of our Union,” Tokayev noted.

According to the president, joint development of the Trans-Afghan Corridor could provide EAEU countries with direct access to the markets of South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. In this context, the capacity of the railway route linking Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan should be expanded.

“Financial support from the Eurasian Development Bank would significantly accelerate this process,” Tokayev said.

Overall, Kazakhstan proposes to consolidate efforts to build a competitive transport and logistics framework for the EAEU, integrated into global supply chains, the President concluded.