On 21-22 June 2023 in Samarkand, TRACECA took part in the TIR Executive Board (TIRExB) Friends of the Chair meeting with the subject: “Transforming the middle corridor to an electronic TIR (eTIR) corridor”

The Meeting was attended by representatives of customs services, national automobile associations, key stakeholders, international organizations and financial institutions, representatives of the private sector and other representatives from the TIR member countries (Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan).
 
Representatives of the Customs Service and the Ministry of Economy of Uzbekistan, the Islamic Development Bank, the EU General Directorate for Taxation and Customs Union, the IRU and TRACECA welcomed the participants of the meeting.

Secretary General of the PS IGC TRACECA, Mr. Assavbayev A.A. noted that in recent years in the TRACECA countries there has been a positive trend in the work of the authorized bodies on joining the e-TIR international system in accordance with Annex 11 to the Convention and the implementation of projects by analogy with the e-TIR. Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan have completed their accession to the UNECE international system, while Türkiye is planning to complete its accession soon. “TRACECA is the most active region for the implementation of e-TIR and with support at the national level in Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, there are all prerequisites for launching a corridor where TIR transport will be fully electronic,” noted Mr. A. Assavbayev.
 
The agenda of the meeting focused on discussions regarding the importance of turning the Middle Corridor into an e-TIR corridor, challenges and opportunities for e-TIR implementation.
 
Customs authorities and representatives of national associations of TIR countries shared their vision and experience of interconnecting their customs systems into the e-TIR international system, and also had the opportunity to share experience with representatives of the private sector and expand business contacts. Along with this, presentations were heard from customs authorities that have not yet begun to implement the interconnectivity project.
 
“Given the multimodality of the TRACECA corridor and the need to cross multiple borders, the implementation of e-TIR will simplify procedures and reduce border crossing times for international road transport. Therefore, I sincerely believe that more favourable conditions for the transportation of goods will be created through joint efforts,” Mr. A. Assavbayev added as part of his speech.
 
In addition, during the discussions the IRU presented the TIRExB Tools for representatives of national associations and the private sector.

As a result, the meeting participants agreed on the next steps to ensure the interconnection of all national customs systems in the region with the e-TIR international system.
 
Conclusions and recommendations of the meeting will be available in the near future.