On 2 July 2014 Mr. Eduard Biriucov, the Secretary General of the PS IGC TRACECA met H.E. Mr. Erling Skjonsberg, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Royal Norwegian Embassy to the Republic of Azerbaijan

To the left: H.E. Mr Erling Skjonsberg, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the Royal Norwegian Embassy to the Republic of Azerbaijan; to the right: Mr Eduard Biriucov, TRACECA Secretary General

The Secretary General informed Mr. Skjonsberg on the latest developments in TRACECA, completed and ongoing technical assistance projects, pilot projects and the role of the countries in their implementation.

In particular, the discussion touched upon the subject of the construction of the new railway line between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, which will connect the railway networks (Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project), construction of the new Baku International Sea Port in Alyat, and etc.

The “Silk Wind” project was of particular interest. This is a project of a new block-train linking Kazakhstan (from the Chinese border) with the EU countries though the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus, the Black Sea region and Turkey. The project has been started at the beginning of 2012 under the auspices of the PS IGC TRACECA and the EU TRACECA technical assistance “LOGMOS” project. The work on the elaboration of the draft of an intergovernmental agreement that will define the legal framework of the project implementation, technical parameters and the schedule of the block-train is to be continued.

On the outcomes of the meeting, Mr. Biriucov presented to Mr. Skjonsberg the Strategy of the IGC TRACECA on the development of international transport corridor “Europe-Caucasus-Asia” and the TRACECA Atlas for consideration. The parties agreed to consider the possibilities of bilateral cooperation in the future.