Kazakhstan is key to the Middle Corridor

The race to go around Russia is on and the New Silk Road has a Central Asian energy flavour

The Middle Corridor, a major new trade route from China running through Central Asia to Europe that bypasses Russia and its Northern Corridor, has been on the drawing board for decades. Now, the war in Ukraine may have finally created the incentives needed to make it happen. Energy is at the centre of the route, and Kazakhstan—a big, potential beneficiary looking to diversify its oil export routes—is moving full speed ahead to take advantage. “With Russia weakening its grip on the region, it is quite timely that [regional leaders] started discussing this again, and I think this is quite a realistic project, because if Kazakhstan builds a trans-Caspian oil pipeline, they will minimise the ris