TURKPA countries urged to participate in Silk Road Economic Belt project

"Our countries have a unique opportunity of becoming a part of something big - the New Silk Road. This transcontinental route will cross the territory of our countries and is aimed at creating a unified Eurasian economic space and transport corridor along the Silk Road Economic Belt," Speaker of the Kazakh Senate Kabibulla Dzhakupov said addressing the participants of the 6th plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic speaking countries (TURKPA) in Astana. In his words, it is crucial to develop new infrastructure projects, logistics centers, enhance transit potential and traffic handling capacity of the Caspian region. "The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is set to start operating at full capacity in 2016. Moreover, next year we will complete the construction of Kazakhstan's section of the Western Europe - Western China transit corridor. It is obvious that participation in the Silk Road Economic Belt project will bring new technologies, foreign investment to our countries and ensure economic growth, infrastructure development and raise the level of mutual trade there," MP Dzhakupov added.