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eCIM/SMGS consignment note pilot project discussed on 07-08 October 2024

08.10.2024

The 16th Regional Capacity-Building Seminar on Trade and Transport Facilitation and data exchange was organized in collaboration between the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (the UNECE), with the Ministry of Economy of Georgia, the Permanent Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Commission of the Transport Corridor Europe-the Caucasus- Asia (the PS IGC TRACECA) and other partners.

This event was organized back-to-back with the Sixth Meeting of the UNECE-ECO Coordination Committee on the Trans-Caspian and Almaty-Tehran-Istanbul Corridors. Around 80 participants took part in this event, the representatives from transport ministries, customs, railway operators, ports, and other stakeholders from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Ukraine and Uzbekistan participated at this event. A number of participants from international organizations and experts from the UN ECE, UN/CEFACT, ADB, ECO, GIZ, ICAO, IFC/WB, ITC, PS IGC TRACECA and TITR also joined and supported the seminar.

At the seminar, the joint OSJD, CIT, UIC, UN ECE, PS IGC TRACECA pilot project on the use of the e-CIM/SMGS consignment note along selected TRACECA routes was highlighted and recognized as an example for practical implementation of UN/CEFACT standards.

The PS IGC TRACECA representative provided an overview of the e-CIM SMGS CN pilot project, noting key elements, action plan, testing activities and expected next steps. It was noted that upon coordinative and preparatory activities in September 2024, the second successful virtual testing of the eCIM/SMGS CN digital prototype was conducted from September 30 to October 4, 2024. Testing of the Application Programming Interface (API) between the IT systems of the railway operators of Azerbaijan of Georgia was hailed as a milestone in the effort for integration of IT systems which enhances efficiency of the electronic information exchange of digitalized railway freight documents.

Consultant supported by the UN ECE and UN/CEFACT experts elaborated process for creation of digital prototype of eCIM/SMGS consignment note aligned with UN/CEFACT standards that was used for testing. Representatives of participating railway operators from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Türkiye presented their experience in the second virtual pilot project testing, their views for the next steps and the advancements of the pilot project.

Based on the successful testing of the prototype of the CIM/SMGS consignment note, it was recommended to deepen, finalize, and expand the CIM/SMGS railway consignment note pilot project, integrating the exchange of the railway consignment note in national railway IT systems via API between remaining participating countries, and develop convertor (where relevant) to enable automated seamless electronic information exchange along the corridors. Reflecting the interest in the pilot project noted during the seminar, it is also recommended to consider expanding the project to multimodal data and document exchange, including through additional pilot projects with documents in other modes of transport and other trade documents.

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Permanent Secretaritat of the IGC TRACECA