On March 02, 2021, a meeting between Mr. Asset Assavbayev, Secretary General of the PS IGC TRACECA and Mr. Bahrom Ashrafkhanov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan was held

During the discussions, the participants of the meeting pointed out the main directions of TRACECA's activities, including containerization of cargo, simplification of border crossing procedures, digitalization of the transportation process, liberalization of the permit system for cargo transportation, rationalization of the TRACECA routes’ scheme.

The discussions also touched upon the possibilities of feeder service in the process of international cargo transportation along the corridor, which allows integrating various modes of transport, effectively storing/exporting general cargo to shipping companies on regular shipping lines in containers.

In addition, the regulation of tariff policy issues, introduction of electronic pre-declaration, implementation of the provisions of the draft Agreement on a STP, attraction of grants from the TA projects, etc. issues were the focus of discussions.

In his turn, the Ambassador expressed his interest in the current status of bilateral relations in Uzbekistan-TRACECA format, as well as the country's contribution to the development of trade and economic ties, considering them as one of the pillars of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Being a full-fledged member country of the MLA TRACECA, Uzbekistan has succeeded in the field of economic and infrastructural development in recent years. In terms of exports, the country has adopted and is systematically implementing a Comprehensive programme for improving transport infrastructure and diversifying foreign trade routes for transportation of goods.

The Parties also added that such projects as the Silk Road Initiative (One Belt, One Road) from China to Europe, development of the TITR project, including the introduction of through tariffs and the phased implementation of promising initiatives along the ITC TRACECA increase the attractiveness of the corridor for carrier and make it more competitive.

"Attracting a new cargo flow requires taking further integration steps with the assistance of TRACECA countries," – Mr. A.A. Assavbayev stressed.

In addition, TRACECA continues to explore new opportunities for expanding cooperation aimed at improving the competitiveness of Europe-the Caucasus-Asia corridor routes. In order to develop maritime transportation, a study has been launched on the evaluation and development of the Concept of sea vessels for the Caspian Sea, development of a business model of cargo shipping lines on the Caspian and Black Seas, which will allow to conduct a comparative analysis of the cost of multimodal cargo transportation and prepare recommendations for reducing the transportation cost.

In conclusion, the Parties agreed to exchange relevant information in order to further expand Uzbekistan's participation in TRACECA activities.