Pashinyan: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia must seize global focus to transform South Caucasus into key transit hub

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday that the various South Caucasus transportation projects complement each other, rather than compete.

Speaking at the 2025 Tbilisi Silk Road Forum, Pashinyan disagreed with an opinion that various transportation projects are competing against one another in the region.

“Let me say that I completely disagree with that idea,” he said. “Because the transportation routes in our region complement each other, increasing the South Caucasus' transit potential. Let me give an example: as a result of implementing the third point of the Washington Declaration, the Persian Gulf-Black Sea railway will open, significantly increasing the transit potential not only of Armenia but also of Georgia and Azerbaijan.”

According to the Armenian leader, the most important condition for implementing all these agreements is peace, which has been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a result of the Washington summit.

“Now we are working to make the peace that has been established with Azerbaijan more institutionalized, aiming to sign and ratify the agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which was initialled in Washington. At the same time, all transportation routes will gradually be opened, bringing a historic change to our region,” he said.

According to Prime Minister Pashinyan, the Armenia-Türkiye dialogue, the peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the TRIPP project, and the friendly relations between the countries of the region will make the South Caucasus the most attractive transit route, both in North-South and East-West directions. This means that the infrastructure of all the countries in the region will be overloaded, and it is even possible that they may not be sufficient to handle the growing flows, Pashinyan added.

“The immense international interest now focused on the South Caucasus is a capital that Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan must together use wisely to ensure the region's development and stability. Ultimately, we have a historic opportunity to secure not only a peaceful but also a developed and prosperous South Caucasus,” the Prime Minister said.