Session 2

Unlocking the Tethyan Belt: The Strategic Vision for the Middle Corridor’s Mineral Wealth

The global race to secure critical raw materials — from lithium and rare earths to cobalt and copper — is redrawing the map of international trade and industrial strategy. At the same time, the Middle Corridor (Trans-Caspian International Transport Route) is evolving from a simple logistics bypass into a potential integrated industrial belt spanning Turkey, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia. This session will explore how the Middle Corridor, supercharged by the TRIPP framework, can successfully evolve into an integrated industrial belt. The session will address the delicate balance between commercial opportunity and regional friction, evaluating how to merge mineral extraction and localised high-value processing with synchronized, multi-modal transport networks to build resilient, de-risked supply chains connecting East and West.

Key themes

Critical minerals and great power competition: what it means for the Tethyan Belt.
Türkiye’s vision as the gateway to the Middle Corridor mineral economy.
Kazakhstan’s mineral wealth in the new geopolitical landscape: multi-vector strategy in practice.
Uzbekistan’s $2.6B critical minerals programme: progress, partnerships and priorities for 2026.
Kyrgyzstan’s Critical Minerals Drive: Polymetals, Rare Earth Elements, and New Exploration Programs.
Tajikistan’s Antimony Leadership: Securing Diversified Global Supply Chains for Critical Minerals
The South Caucasus as a mineral bridge: Armenia and Azerbaijan’s evolving roles.

Moderator

Han Ilhan

Co-Founder and Managing Director

Catalis Strategies

Speakers:

11:30 - Theme Pending

Mehmet Uvez

Head of EBRD’s office in Ankara, Deputy Head of Türkiye

EBRD

11:45 - Building on latest OECD work on CRM in Central Asia, Céleste will present on-going EU-funded work on the nexus between connectivity for CRM in Central Asia, and how the Middle Corridor can unlock the potential for CRM exports from Central Asia to the EU.