Kazakhstan officially assumed the Chairmanship of the Intergovernmental Commission TRACECA

The opening ceremony of the Meeting was chaired by the Minister of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, H.E. Mr. Nurlan Sauranbayev, who welcomed the participants in Astana. In his speech, the Minister noted that the holding of the IGC TRACECA Meeting in Kazakhstan for the second time, following 2007, highlights the importance of further strengthening transport cooperation among the participating countries, as well as the significance of the TRACECA corridor as one of the key instruments for ensuring regional connectivity in current conditions.

The procedure for the transfer of the Chairmanship was carried out through the handover of the TRACECA Book, containing the core document – the Basic Multilateral Agreement on International Transport for Development of the Europe-the Caucasus-Asia Corridor (MLA), by the National Secretary of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Amin Taraffo, to the Chairman of the IGC TRACECA, Minister of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. Nurlan Sauranbayev.

“Being located at the heart of the Eurasian continent, Kazakhstan is consistently strengthening its role as a key transit and logistics hub through the development of transport infrastructure, multimodal transport, seaports and modern digital solutions,” emphasized Minister Sauranbayev. The priority areas of the Chairmanship were identified as the development of transportation through the Caspian basin, harmonisation of legislation, digitalization of transport processes and other key issues.

The heads of delegations from the 14 MLA Parties and representatives of international organizations, including ECO, BSEC, IRU, ECAC, UN ESCAP, UNECE, OTIF and others also presented their speeches at the Meeting.

One of the key items of the Agenda was the presentation of the Activities Report by the Secretary General on his work in the capacity of Secretary General.

In addition, within the framework of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the IGC TRACECA, five participating states of TRACECA — the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Ukraine and the Republic of Uzbekistan — signed the Agreement on Single Transit Permit (STP) of TRACECA, aimed at the simplification of international road transportation within the Europe-the Caucasus-Asia corridor.

The remaining TRACECA participating states are currently conducting the relevant domestic procedures required for accession to the Agreement.

Furthermore, the decision on making amendments to the Technical Document “TRACECA Multilateral Permit. User Manual” was officially signed. The signing of the updated technical document took place with the participation of the heads of delegations of the Republic of Armenia, Georgia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Romania, the Republic of Türkiye and Ukraine.

At the Meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission TRACECA, elections of the new Secretary General of the Permanent Secretariat of the IGC were held. Following the vote, the Deputy Minister of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mr. Jasurbek Choriev, was elected as the new Secretary General. In his first speech, Mr. Jasurbek Choriev thanked the participating countries for their trust and emphasized the need to further strengthen cooperation and engage all Parties in the work of the organization. “I am confident that only with the equal support of all participating states we will be able to realize the potential of TRACECA and bring cooperation to a new level,” stated Mr. Choriev.

The closing statement was delivered by the outgoing head of the organization, Mr. Asset Assavbayev, in connection with the completion of his six-year mandate. “Six years is a significant period in the life of any international organization. Looking back, I can say with confidence that these were years of active and substantive work, filled with tangible results for the development of the TRACECA corridor. These results became possible thanks to joint work of the participating states, National Secretaries and experts who throughout this entire period contributed to the development of the organization. I am deeply grateful to all for their support and constructive engagement,” stated Mr. Assavbayev.

In conclusion, the Final Resolutions were signed, reflecting the outcomes of the work carried out and formulating recommendations for further steps.

For reference:

• The introduction of the TRACECA Single Transit Permit mechanism will be an important step towards the digitalization of international road transportation, the simplification of administrative procedures, the acceleration of border crossing and the enhancement of the transparency of transport operations. The TRACECA Single Transit Permit will be issued exclusively in electronic format through a single web portal with the assignment of a unique identification number and barcode.

The Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) operates in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the IGC TRACECA. The decisions and recommendations adopted by the IGC TRACECA define the main areas of activity of the Permanent Secretariat of the IGC TRACECA, headquartered in Baku, the Republic of Azerbaijan.

• TRACECA unites the transport systems of 14 Parties of the Basic Multilateral Agreement (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Romania, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan), cooperating within the framework of the development of the international transport corridor Europe-the Caucasus-Asia. The Permanent Secretariat of the IGC TRACECA has Permanent Representatives (National Secretaries) in each of the MLA Parties. Observer status at the IGC TRACECA is held by the Hellenic Republic, the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Lithuania.

• Currently, the Permanent Secretariat of the IGC TRACECA has signed 12 Memoranda of understanding and cooperation with international and regional organizations in various transport sectors, including UNECE, UN ESCAP, the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the Organization for Cooperation of Railways (OSJD), the International Union of Railways (UIC), the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), the International Road Federation (IRF), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route Association (TITR), the Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce (SRCIC) and other international agencies. Work is currently ongoing on the finalization of the text and preparation for the signing of a Memorandum of cooperation with the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF).