Senior U.S. State Department officials told reporters on Tuesday that the New York event will focus on the institutional and financial mechanisms needed to move TRIPP from last year's Armenia-Azerbaijan peace initiative toward implementation.
The event is expected to bring together the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, representatives of the five Central Asian states -- with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan showing particular interest – U.S. Peace Envoy Steve Witkoff, Senator Steve Daines, and executives from more than 40 companies, many of them American. Officials said the event will highlight how TRIPP aims to "pop the cork" on the Middle Corridor, unlocking a westward trade route that connects Europe to Central Asia while reducing reliance on transit through Russia, China, and Iran.
The gathering will also feature the Trans-Caspian Enterprise Fund, which officials said will invest in opportunities arising from TRIPP and the wider Trans-Caspian trade route. The fund operates at arm's length from the U.S. government under a White House-appointed board and receives grant funding from the State Department. It is distinct from the TRIPP Development Company, the joint U.S.-Armenian corporate entity being established to develop and oversee the corridor.
The senior State Department official said Washington has spent the past 13 months building the legal framework needed to invest in and manage infrastructure in Armenia, with the U.S. Congress allocating funding to support the peace process and the project's development. TRIPP is intended to provide unimpeded access between Azerbaijan proper and its Nakhchivan exclave through Armenian territory while respecting Armenia's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security.
"This becomes a major security issue for us," the official said, describing the removal of existing trade "choke points" as a central objective.
The Trump administration is portraying TRIPP as part of a broader change in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations since their August 8, 2025, summit. The officials said there have been no ceasefire violations since the summit and pointed to "meaningful integration" through limited trade in fuel and agricultural products. According to them, Azerbaijani fuel supplies have contributed to an estimated 20 to 30 percent decline in Armenian fuel costs. Officials also cited a broader expansion of U.S. ties with both countries, saying Washington had deliberately moved beyond a relationship focused almost exclusively on the conflict.
In Armenia, the briefers pointed to the opening of the Firebird AI Center in Yerevan, developed with U.S. technology including Nvidia and Dell. In Azerbaijan, officials cited expanded energy cooperation, defense discussions, and increased high-level US engagement. The officials noted there had been more interaction between Washington and Baku during the previous 13 to 14 months than during the preceding 13 to 14 years.
The U.S. administration's approach is to pursue economic integration alongside the peace process. According to the senior State Department official, Yerevan and Baku were acting as though peace were "inevitable," although a final peace agreement has yet to be completed.
Additional steps remain, including constitutional and other legal changes in Armenia and measures involving other participating countries. Washington nevertheless intends to proceed with TRIPP in parallel, arguing that building the corridor could itself remove obstacles to peace.
Despite the announcement, the Armenian section is not yet ready for construction. The section is a little under 43 kilometers long and is expected to include a railway, road, pipelines, electricity infrastructure, and digital data links.
The senior State Department official said Azerbaijan has already been building infrastructure toward the Armenian border at its own expense, while Turkey is similarly developing infrastructure up to the border. The remaining section through Armenia is still to be developed.
"We're not there yet," the official said when asked whether the first shovel of earth could be turned during Wednesday's event. The administration hopes to begin looking for businesses and investment opportunities by the end of 2026 or in the first quarter of 2027.
The railway will take longer. A feasibility study is expected by the end of 2026 or early 2027, after which companies will be able to bid. The official said completing the railway would likely take at least 18 months, complicated by difficult topography.
"Nobody is going to ride on this train in '27," the official said.
Electricity connections could come sooner. Discussions are already underway, with officials expecting electricity operations to begin in 2027, potentially linking the Armenian and Azerbaijani grids with wider C5, Turkish, and European regional networks. Passenger rail is also planned.
The briefers provided more detail about the planned structure of the TRIPP Development Company but no names for its future leadership. The TDC is being established as a corporate joint venture between the US government and Armenia. The senior State Department official described it as a first-of-its-kind arrangement in which the US will hold a majority stake, complete with a board, voting procedures, oversight, and professional management. Several legal matters still need to be finalized before the company can formally be announced.
The company's bylaws will establish how bidding and oversight work. Projects involving rail, roads, electricity, oil, gas, and data will go through regular tender processes for construction or concessions. The U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has been involved in the legal and institutional setup, but the TDC itself will operate as a separate U.S.-Armenian corporate entity.
The United States is prepared to invest once feasibility studies establish that individual projects are commercially viable. The State Department is financing part of the feasibility work, with engineering firm AECOM set to present investors with projects unlocked by TRIPP during Wednesday's event.
Officials described TRIPP as an alternative to existing east-west routes. The senior State Department official said the US has held discussions with regional competitors but declined to characterize their private views.
"There have been numerous conversations with all of the competitors in the region," the official said, adding that Washington was aware of the potential for "hard conversations" in what officials called a difficult neighborhood.
No separate security force or dedicated mechanism for TRIPP was announced. Instead, the briefers emphasized long-term US involvement and continued diplomatic engagement, citing Washington's expanding economic and political relationships with Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The September 23 event is intended to mark a shift from the 2025 peace initiative toward implementation, with more than 40 companies attending. The project still requires completing feasibility studies, legal arrangements, financing, tendering, and ultimately construction.
While Washington says Armenia and Azerbaijan are on an "irreversible path to peace," their final peace agreement has yet to be completed. The U.S. nevertheless intends to develop TRIPP alongside the peace process, arguing that greater economic integration could help remove remaining obstacles. As the senior State Department official put it, the focus is on "what happens the day after the piece of paper."