President: Kazakhstani section of Western Europe - Western China corridor of paramount importance for Eurasia

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - Kazakhstani section of the Western Europe - Western China international transit corridor is of paramount importance for Eurasia, believes President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The Head of State admitted at the 8th Astana Economic Forum on Friday that existing sea trade routes do not meet the growing needs of international trade. "Trade volume between China and the EU member states has already topped $600 billion and by 2020 it is expected to exceed $800 billion. That is why this overland route is picking up momentum for growing Asia. We see a lot of exciting opportunities in it. This route will be 3 times shorter than the sea one," President Nazarbayev said, speaking at the forum. The Kazakh leader added that the 3,000 km long Kazakhstani section of the international transit corridor will be completed in 2015. It is annual handling capacity will amount to 30 million tons. "The corridor will link China and Kazakhstan, Russia and Europe, but most importantly, the Central Asian region will have access as well," Nursultan Nazarbayev said.