February 15, Munich – The Caspian Policy Center (CPC) organized an event titled “The Golden Mean? Connectivity, Security and the Caspian Middle Corridor” on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference 2026. The session positioned the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route at the center of global security and geo-economic dialogue. The session was officially featured within the MSC program - reflecting the growing international recognition of the Middle Corridor as a strategic pillar of Eurasian connectivity.

The discussion highlighted the Middle Corridor’s evolution from a regional initiative into a strategic artery of Eurasian connectivity—linking Central Asia and the South Caucasus across the Caspian Sea and onward to Europe and East Asia. Key themes during the discussion included the transformation of global supply chains, infrastructure modernization, digitalization and transparency, the reduction of transaction costs, and the promotion of long-term investment predictability. 

Helga Maria Schmid, former Secretary General of the OSCE and Vice-Chair of the MSC Foundation Council, provided opening remarks, underlining the Corridor’s rising importance for Europe’s security architecture, economic resilience, and diversification of global supply chains. 

The high-level discussion was moderated by CPC President Efgan Nifti and Chairman of CFive, a Kazakhstan-based think tank, Iskander Akybayev. The event convened policymakers, diplomats, business leaders, and strategic analysts. Among the speakers listed were: 

• Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan; Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration 

• Assel Zhanassova, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan 

• Sodiq Safoyev, First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Uzbekistan 

MSC 2026 brought together around 70 heads of state and government, 65 foreign ministers, 40 defense ministers, and more than 500 bilateral meetings - highlighting the scale of global engagement. The inclusion of the Middle Corridor within this context confirms a clear shift: 

Central Asia and the Caspian region are no longer peripheral - they are becoming structural elements of the emerging global connectivity architecture. 

From dialogue to implementation — the momentum is accelerating.