On September 04, 2023, a workshop on the Trans-Caspian and Almaty-Tehran-Istanbul Corridors was held in Geneva in a hybrid format as part of the 36th Session of the Inland Transport Committee of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ITC UNECE)

The Workshop was gathering stakeholders, including representatives of ministries in charge of transport, national railway undertakings, transport infrastructure managers and operators, as well as international organizations and private sector associations, with the support of five United Nations regional commissions (ECE, ESCAP, ESCWA, ECA and ECLAC).  

The agenda focused on discussions on the latest trends, opportunities and challenges in the field of multimodal transport corridor management with a focus on legal, institutional, and regulatory aspects across regions.

During his speech, the Secretary General of the PS IGC TRACECA, Mr. Assavbayev A.A. informed the Workshop participants about the work aimed at developing of the Trans-Caspian and Almaty-Tehran-Istanbul Corridors, which also are part of TRACECA, as well as the implementation of initiatives, including digitalization of the corridor, use of the CIM/SMGS consignment note and the gradual transition to its electronic form, measures to promote multimodal transport between Asia and Europe, as well as harmonization of procedures and etc. Mr. Assavbayev A. noted that during the Third Session of the Coordinating Committee, the results of work on digitalization and customs issues were presented in more detail, as well as potential issues for joint elaboration in the field of rail transport were highlighted.

 "All the proposals of the Permanent Secretariat were based on the Coordination Committee's two-year Action Plan for 2023-2025. In particular, Point C of the Plan aimed at determining tariffs for rail freight transport has a significant role and may require the most time and coordination between countries. As a whole, work in this dimension should be focused on the following principles: "openness of tariffs and their accessibility", "open description of existing discount systems" and "timely response to market conditions", added Secretary General, Mr. Assavbayev A.A.

The workshop will continue its work on September 5 and 6, during which the issues of creating conditions for the regulatory framework for the multimodal corridors’ management, financing options for the management of multimodal transport corridors in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America regions will be considered.


Related news:

•    On June 6-7, 2023, the Second Meeting of the ECO\UNECE Coordination Committee on the Trans-Caspian and Almaty-Istanbul Corridors took place
http://www.traceca-org.org/en/news/single-news/n/on_june_6_7_2023_the_second_meeting_of_the_ecounece_coordination_committee_on_the_trans_caspian_a/

•    The Third Meeting of the ECO/UNECE Coordinating Committee on the Trans-Caspian and Almaty-Istanbul Corridors was held on July 25-26, 2023 in Baku (Republic of Azerbaijan)
http://www.traceca-org.org/en/news/single-news/n/the_third_meeting_of_the_ecounece_coordinating_committee_on_the_trans_caspian_and_almaty_istanbul_c/