Ilham Aliyev: Our future goal is to make BTK railway economically attractive

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 3 Trend: Future goal is to make the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway economically attractive, said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in an interview with Euronews TV channel following the landmark ceremony to inaugurate the rail line in Baku Oct. 30. Euronews presented a story in its “Focus” program about the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. The TV channel’s correspondent interviewed the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey and the prime minister of Georgia. “There is no shorter way between Asia and Europe,” Ilham Aliyev told Euronews. “Our goal for the future is to agree on tariffs to make it economically attractive. In the long-term, the volume of cargo will grow, and of course this means big profits, big revenues, new jobs and cooperation.” The project’s implementation is an historic event, said the president. “This railway connects continents, Eurasia. This is a shooter way between Asia and Europe. Azerbaijan together with Turkey and Georgia actively participated in its construction,” noted President Aliyev, He added that the participation of Turkish, Georgian, Kazakh, Uzbek friends, prime ministers, ministers from Turkmenistan, Tajikistan in the opening ceremony once again proves how important the project is. This railway will bring stability, prosperity, development to the whole region, said the Azerbaijani president.