A migration corridor and the diplomacy holding it together

The corridor connects three countries, none of which fully trusts the other two, and yet it has functioned, imperfectly and unevenly, for longer than most observers expected.

That is largely down to a set of bilateral agreements renegotiated every few years, each narrow enough to survive the domestic politics of the government signing it. Pull on any single thread and the arrangement looks fragile. In practice it has proven more durable than its critics predicted, held together by quiet diplomacy rather than any grand settlement.

This piece follows that diplomacy through the people who conduct it: border officials, aid coordinators, and the mid-level negotiators whose names rarely make headlines but whose work keeps the route open.