Vietnam-China-Kazakhstan-Europe rail route launched
For the first time ever, 1,686 TEU of goods were shipped from Hanoi, Vietnam, via the Vietnamese border railway terminal of Dong Dang, and then through China and Kazakhstan to Duisburg, Germany.
The shipment of LG and Samsung goods by rail from Hanoi to Duisburg took 22 days, including 2 days for the transportation of goods from Vietnam to China. It took 20 days to transport the goods to Duisburg. In the future, it is planned to reduce the total shipment time from Vietnam to Europe to 19 days. According to Vietnam Railways, the volumes will significantly increase this year.
The launch of this railway route was one of the practical results of the implementation of the strategic objective set by President Nursultan Nazarbayev to integrate Kazakhstan's transport infrastructure into the international transport system and unleash the transport potential of our country in the furtherance of Nurly Zhol Government Program, which is interconnected with the China's Belt and Road Initiative.
In 2016, the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Vietnam and KTZ initiated the work to establish and launch the transport and logistics route between Kazakhstan and Vietnam in transit through China. To accomplish this objective, representatives of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy National Company paid visits to Vietnam in 2016 and 2017. During the visits, they met with the leaders of the Vietnamese Transport Ministry and Vietnam Railways. Besides, there were two business forums involving over 100 major international and Vietnamese logistics companies.
It should be mentioned that visiting two railway crossings - Dong Dang and Lao Cai - bordering with China, KTZ specialists noted their importance and potential for the establishment of the above railway route.
In February 2017, KTZ and Vietnamese Railways in Hanoi signed a Memorandum of Cooperation, which facilitated the further intensification of the transport and logistics cooperation between the two countries.
Owing to the support from Kazakhstan's diplomats and the active involvement of KTZ representatives, the railway administrations of Kazakhstan, Vietnam, and China held the first trilateral negotiations in March and July 2017 in Almaty and Hanoi, respectively. As a result, the parties agreed on transportation volumes, routes, and logistics operators. Partners from Russia and Mongolia also joined the subsequent rounds of the negotiations.
The Working Group on Transport between the railway administrations of Kazakhstan and Vietnam, which was established in April 2018, is successfully operating.
In general, Kazakhstan and Vietnam are connected by two transport routes: the Kazakhstan logistics terminal in the port of Lianyungang (China), through which Kazakh wheat is transported to Vietnam, and the route through the Vietnamese railway terminal of Dong Dang.
As you know, Vietnam became the first country to sign the Free Trade Agreement with the EAEU countries. The Kazakhstan-China-Vietnam transit route gives our country and other EAEU countries the opportunity to supply agricultural products (including meat and dairy products, and other types of goods that require fast transportation) to Vietnam. The joint Kazakhstan-Russia projects for the supply of wheat to Iran are a case in point. In turn, using the capabilities of this corridor, Vietnam gets the opportunity to export seafood and tropical fruits to Kazakhstan.
Vietnam is completing the work on a similar agreement with the European Union. This will make it possible to diversify the transit transport corridor along the Vietnam-China-Kazakhstan-Europe route, reduce the time for delivery of goods from Vietnam and ASEAN countries to Europe. In general, it will be a good alternative to maritime transport.
The Vietnam-China-Kazakhstan-Europe transit transport corridor will let Kazakhstan significantly enhance its transport and transit potential and become an effective bridge between Europe and Southeast Asia.
At the end of 2018, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Vietnam reached $467.2 million. It is expected that the launch of the Vietnam-China-Kazakhstan-Europe railway corridor will considerably boost trade between the two countries.