US companies are lining up for the chance to hit pay dirt from a confirmed Washington-brokered peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Such a reliable end to hostilities would provide the final 43-km (27-mile) piece for a corridor that would stretch from Turkey to China, via the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

On September 23, executives from more than 40 companies gathered in New York together with officials from countries angling to capitalise on the proposed corridor, known as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) and set to feature rail and road links as well as energy and digital infrastructure.

Held on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly, the event featured US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Republican Senator Steve Daines of Montana, as well as officials from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the five Central Asian states.

Once green-lighted, TRIPP, would be developed by a US-Armenian company in which the United States would hold a controlling stake. That is no doubt causing plenty of discomfort in Moscow, already miffed by Armenia increasingly slipping out of its sphere of influence, given the Western orientation of the small country’s Pashinyan administration. However, no contracts have yet been signed and no construction work in Armenia is expected before next year.

A difficulty is that while Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on a peace treaty text in March 2025, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev endorsed it in the presence of US President Donald Trump at the White House five months later, the neighbouring countries have yet to finalise an agreement. Another is that the corridor would run through territory located not much more than a mortar’s throw from Iran and Tehran’s toleration of TRIPP will be sorely tested if it cannot resolve its war with the US to its satisfaction.

Some feasibility studies for TRIPP work in Armenia are under way and there could be some bidding for major contracts as early as before the end of this year.

Financial, corporate structures

Washington, meanwhile, under the watchful eye of the business-minded Trump, is creating financial and corporate structures aimed at turning TRIPP plans into viable projects that are investable.

The US and Armenia are establishing TRIPP Development Company. A majority stake in the joint venture will go to Washington. It would then supervise corridor infrastructure development and competitive tenders for the Armenian TRIPP section.

A Trans-Caspian Enterprise Fund will be established in parallel, tasked with sourcing private capital for connectivity projects across countries in the wider region with an interest in TRIPP proving a success.

Andrew D’Anieri, associate director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, told RFE/RL in New York that the two initiatives signalled deeper US economic engagement.

“Advancing TRIPP and announcing the Trans-Caspian Enterprise Fund in the presence of senior regional officials and major US companies sends a strong signal that America means business,” D’Anieri was quoted as saying.

“[But] TRIPP will advance more slowly given the degree of technical project difficulty and geopolitical sensitivities,” he added.

Road to Nakhchivan

For Azerbaijan, a tremendous reward from a signed peace deal and TRIPP will be finally having a straightforward overland link to its Nakhchivan exclave, which is wedged between Turkey, Iran and Armenia. The US, on the other hand, sees potential sizeable benefits at all points of the compass resulting from TRIPP.

RFE/RL also spoke to Angela Howard, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Center on Economic and Financial Power, who remarked: “US investment in the Caucasus places an American foot in the gateway to Central Asia.”

That could prove vital in future to the shipping of critical minerals mined in Central Asia, often with US financing and project involvement, westward.

Special envoy Witkoff said he anticipated that TRIPP will generate “huge investment”, particularly in Armenia.

“Everybody’s focused now on transmission and speed to market,” he added, referencing estimates that the transit route could reduced some trade journeys by up to three weeks.

Armenian leader Pashinyan talked of TRIPP implementation “fully unlocking” regional connectivity. It would, he said, “open a new era” for Armenia and its economy.