Digital Transformation of the ITC Europe-the Caucasus-Asia remains at the сenter of attention of TRACECA

The Agenda of the Meeting included 2 sessions dedicated to the initiatives on digitalization of transport and their coordination within the international transport corridor Europe-the Caucasus-Asia.

During the first session, Mr Goran Andreev, Border Crossing Expert of the PS IGC TRACECA, presented the draft Agreement on the application of electronic documents along the international transport corridor TRACECA, prepared by the Permanent Secretariat. He discussed in detail the goals and objectives of the document, the issue of information and document exchange, the minimum set of data and documents in electronic form related to cross-border transport, mutual recognition mechanisms, etc.

Mr John D. Gregory, an international consultant, presented key approaches to the application of digital transport documents within the Middle Corridor. He noted that the legal framework supporting digitalization already exists in the form of model laws, standards, and best practices. However, the adoption of facilitating law often remains partial and inconsistent across various countries and business sectors. Therefore, comprehensive and consistent support from states is necessary to achieve the best results.

During the second session, Mr Mario Apostolov, Regional Adviser of UN ECE, shared the UN ECE experience on digitalization of transport corridors, emphasizing the importance of using UN/CEFACT global standards, which enable the creation of fast, reliable, and cost-effective trade routes by harmonizing digital processes through the introduction of uniform data and document exchange standards.

Mr Villu Varjas, Officer at the DG MOVE of the European Commission, familiarised the audience with the eFTI Regulation (Regulation on Electronic Freight Transport Information), an EU legal framework that creates uniform rules for the electronic exchange of freight transport information with a view to replacing paper documents, simplifying logistics and accelerating the cross-border movement of goods.

Additionally, Mr Craig Martin, Digitalization Expert of the World Bank, drew attention to the work carried out by the World Bank to digitalize the logistics corridor between the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

During the exchange of views, the MLA TRACECA member countries reviewed and presented their positions on the aforementioned draft Agreement.

On the outcomes of the Meeting, the participants agreed to continue joint work on the digital development of the TRACECA corridor and further finalising of the Agreement.

For reference:

• This work is carried out in accordance with the IGC Decision on the establishment of the Working Group on Digitalization of the TRACECA Corridor to implement the provisions of the Digital Concept of the international transport corridor TRACECA adopted in 2021.