Kazakhstan has proposed linking its Caspian Sea ports of Aktau and Kuryk with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium, part of a broader push by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to expand trade flowing through the Middle Corridor, the overland route connecting China to Europe via Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
Tokayev presented the port partnership proposal at the fourth meeting of the Kazakhstan-Belgium Business Council on October 13 in Astana, an event attended by Belgian King Philippe as part of a broader push to deepen economic ties between the two countries.
Officials said a tie-up between the ports would help open broader markets for Kazakhstan’s metal, petrochemical and agricultural exports, with discussions also covering port digitalization, multimodal logistics, smart-port technologies, decarbonization, and training programs for port specialists.
The push comes as traffic along the Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, continues to climb. Kazakhstan's national railway operator reported roughly 44,000 twenty-foot equivalent containers moved along the route in the first eight months of 2026, up 58% from the same period a year earlier, as shippers increasingly look for alternatives to traditional east-west freight routes.
The proposal reflects Kazakhstan's broader effort to position itself as a logistics hub bridging Asia and Europe, with bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and Belgium already up nearly 10% in the first eight months of the year, a trend officials on both sides are looking to extend through deeper port and logistics cooperation.
