On February 27-28, 2024, the Secretary General of the PS IGC TRACECA visited the Republic of Kazakhstan (Astana)

As part of the exchange of views, the Secretary General shared the results of a recent meeting at the Baku International Sea Trade Port with representatives of the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO), as well as issues related to the obstacles to the timely dispatch of cargo vehicles.

In particular, representatives of ASCO spoke about the need to work out the issue of reducing the time of waiting and registration in the port of Kuryk in order to minimize the time of the vessel’s stay in port.

"Long waiting times for ferries, sometimes reaching 3 weeks, are unacceptable. Besides weather conditions, the reason for such delays may be other factors that need to be solved", Mr. Assavbayev noted. The Secretary General also informed about the work of the PS IGC TRACECA on the establishment of a working group and the development of a draft action plan aimed at the systematic solution of these issues to improve connectivity in the Caspian Sea.
 
In his turn, Vice-Minister of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. Kaliakparov announced about coming online meeting with the port and TITR representatives to discuss issues related to cargo transportation across the Caspian Sea. Mr. Kaliakparov invited the PS IGC TRACECA to take part in the discussion and raised issues related to the permit system, which may slow down transportation along TRACECA routes.

The participants of the meeting confirmed the expediency of taking coordinated measures between the Caspian ports related to obstacles to the timely dispatch of ferries, and, accordingly, cargo vehicles to increase the efficiency of transportation.
 
The agenda of the meeting focused on initiatives aimed at developing the digitalization of transportation, including the implementation of the World Bank recommendations. In addition, the level of cooperation between TRACECA and TITR was considered, and the importance of integrating road transport in transportation carried out within the framework of TITR was noted.

During the meeting, the sides also stressed the importance of mutually beneficial partnership both in the bilateral TRACECA-Kazakhstan format and on a regional scale to further realize the potential of Europe-the Caucasus-Asia corridor and strengthen transport infrastructure in the region.
 
In conclusion, the Secretary General expressed his gratitude to the Vice-Minister for the productive meeting and constructive dialogue, which, certainly, contributed to strengthening relations and realizing common goals and objectives for the benefit of the development of the corridor.