Simplification of customs procedures is one of the priorities in the development of the TRACECA corridor

The meeting, organized by the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, was attended by senior officials of the WCO, UNECE, OTS, TRACECA, Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan, experts from the customs services of Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Tajikistan, etc.

According to the Agenda, the participants of the event heard speakers’ speeches on such topics as the role of customs transit in international trade, applicable transit systems, main goals and objectives of the agreed Action Plan on the development and implementation of facilitated transit in the Trans-Caspian "East-West" Middle Corridor, using the principle of "Single Window", etc.

In particular, the Minister of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Nabiyev, shared the country’s latest achievements in the field of transport development, and also mentioned the development of projects of the new Silk Road, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, role of the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company and the importance of its fleet for the Middle Corridor, spoke about plans to expand the Baku port, project documentation of which will be ready in October 2023, "In the current geopolitical realities, it is necessary to fully use the Middle Corridor," – Mr. Nabiyev noted.
 
In addition, the Chairman of the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, Mr. Baghirov stressed the importance of introducing digital tools in order to simplify customs operations and interaction between customs. This will have a positive effect at the regional and intercontinental level. "The development and launch of this mechanism are called to streamline existing mechanisms and cooperation on a voluntary basis, and are not related with serious financial costs for participants," – he emphasized.

As part of the welcoming remarks, the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Mr. Kunio Mikuriya, also noted that there is currently a great need for uninterrupted trade between Asia and Europe, East and West. "The Middle Corridor connects Asia with Europe. The main goal is to make trade work smoothly and efficiently. That is why this corridor is very important from the point of view of international trade," Mikuriya added.

During his speech, the Secretary General of the PS IGC TRACECA, Mr. A. Assavbayev informed the participants about the activities and initiatives of the Permanent Secretariat aimed at simplifying customs procedures and noted that “digitalization of electronic transport documents will make it possible to contribute to the simplification of transit procedures for customs authorities. For its part, the Permanent Secretariat of the IGC TRACECA is ready to provide a platform for piloting new projects and solutions.”

On the outcomes of the meeting, Action Plan on the development and implementation of facilitated transit in the Trans-Caspian “East-West” Middle Corridor, using the principle of “Single Window" was adopted.

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The day before the multilateral meeting, on March 14, 2023, a preparatory meeting at the expert level was organized.
 
As part of his speech, the Chairman of the State Customs Committee, Mr. Shahin Baghirov noted that in order to promote the increase of the corridor attractiveness, the customs authorities in the countries of the region are taking important steps towards simplifying customs operations based on digital solutions, speeding up border crossing procedures, and in this regard, this meeting is of particular importance.

At the meeting, the specialists of the State Customs Committee provided the meeting participants with information about a single transit portal, which will be created in order to ensure reliable and secure electronic exchange of transit information using the “Single Window" principle. It was noted that the portal will create conditions for simpler and more flexible implementation of customs operations based on digital solutions.