Digital transformation is essential for enhancing the efficiency and competitiveness of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
Drawing on experience from the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), Brussels could support Armenia and Azerbaijan in developing and implementing digital customs and transit platforms, The Caspian Post reports via an article by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP).
These systems would enable seamless electronic data exchange, paperless documentation, and real-time cargo tracking.
Support for standardized customs codes, electronic seals, and smart logistics technologies-including Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) - could align TRIPP operations with TRACECA (Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia) and European digital standards. EU programs for integrated border management could further train customs and border services, reduce delays, and harmonize legal and procedural frameworks along the route, provided official requests come from Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The EU could also help fund a technical coordination platform linking Azerbaijan, Armenia, Türkiye, and Georgia-potentially co-led by the EU and the US. Such a platform would facilitate regulatory harmonization, standard synchronization, and streamlined data sharing, while providing real-time monitoring, cargo tracking, and infrastructure coordination tools.
Additionally, the EU could offer legal advisory support for updating intergovernmental transit agreements in line with international transport conventions and European practices, as well as establish a joint research or academic consortium to provide data-driven decision-making support.
The article also highlights the challenge of mine contamination, which blocks access to farmland, delays construction, and disrupts trade routes between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It recommends expanded funding for demining programs, including drones, specialized equipment, mapping systems, and local team training and certification, ideally under a multiyear Team Europe funding framework.
The author suggests approaching TRIPP with the same strategic vision used for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in the 1990s, when EU, US, and international investment enabled the project despite Azerbaijan’s limited financial resources-strengthening the country’s independence and regional cooperation.
Similarly, TRIPP requires sustainable political, technical, and economic support from the EU and US, which would diversify trade and transport routes, enhance regional connectivity, and lay the foundation for future strategic infrastructure projects in the South Caucasus and Caspian region. The article emphasizes that EU involvement should complement, not replace, local authority, keeping Baku and Yerevan in full control.
