TRACECA – BSEC: Enhancing Cooperation towards Transport Safety and Security and Interregional Transport Dialogue

The theme of the Meeting is relevant for the development of measures and undertaken activities to ensure transport safety and security of the BSEC Member States, including those being TRACECA Members.   

Green and safe transport is the integral part of sustainable transport system of any state. However for effective functioning of the whole system it is necessary to receive public support in order to create favourable economic conditions, eliminate barriers in the way of economic growth, increase the quality of transport infrastructure, provide sustainable transport, based on mutual coordination of transport policies of the BSEC Member States.      

Mr. Biriucov, Secretary General of TRACECA, noted that the transport system is subject to various external impact, and very often such impact leads to negative consequences. The IGC TRACECA Strategy for the development of the TRACECA Corridor up to 2015 defines as one of the key aspects the issues of safety and security of land and maritime transport, as well as environmental protection of the TRACECA Corridor. 

Taking into account the common objectives to increase the sustainability of functioning transport and transport systems, provide reliability and safety of transport of goods, passengers, the most perspective documents in this respect are two Safety and Security Plans developed by the Permanent Secretariat of the IGC TRACECA together with the European Commission.

The first “TRACECA Regional Action Strategy on Maritime Safety and Security and Environmental Protection for the period up to 2021 (within the framework of the implementation of the SASEPOL Project), includes a number of Priority Actions within each of three activities: maritime safety, environmental protection and maritime security. The approved Regional TRACECA Action Plan for Road Safety and Security (within the implementation of the LTSS Project) is aimed at considerable reduction of mortality rate and injury rate in the roads and covers the activities involving the governments, law-enforcement bodies, international donor organizations and civil society.

The Meeting participants observed that international partnership and interregional dialogue is a significant priority in the field of development and distribution of appropriate and advanced technologies to achieve swift, effective, all-round, environmentally friendly international transport in the region.

In this regard Mr. Biriucov emphasized that TRACECA attached special importance to cooperation with international organizations and development of joint priority projects strengthening interregional transport dialogue and promoting efficient, reliable and safe international Eurasian transport connections. 

In this context synergy between the structures of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and TRACECA institutions will undoubtedly become a long-term and efficient platform for solution of common tasks and priorities in the neigbouring countries of the region.

A vivid example is the Memorandum of Understanding between the PS IGC TRACECA and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC) signed at the Astana TRACECA Conference in December 2007. This event is of great significance since it provides more possibilities for establishing direct partnership relations aimed at cooperation with donor organizations, development partners, investors, international organizations and financial institutions of the BSEC Member States.