TRACECA participated in the Ministerial Transport Conference of Landlocked Developing Countries via web-conferencing, held on August 15 and 16, 2022 in Awaza, Turkmenistan

The two-day conference on “Ashgabat Process: Financing for Better Connectivity” was organized by the Government of Turkmenistan in cooperation with the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

The objective of the Ministerial Conference, held in a hybrid format, was to review the critical role of transport for post- COVID-19 recovery, share knowledge, experience and innovative approaches/solutions for post-COVID-19 recovery, identify recommendations and opportunities for enhancing transport infrastructure development and maintenance in LLDCs, as well as strengthening cooperation on transport connectivity for the benefit of LLDCs.

The conference was attended by Ministers of Transport of landlocked developing countries, representatives of UN institutions, international, regional and subregional organizations and financial institutions, representatives of the private sector, non-governmental organizations, academia and other stakeholders.

At the opening session, a welcoming video message of the President of Turkmenistan, H.E. Mr. Serdar Berdimuhamedov was shown to the participants of the conference. The floor was then given to the UN SG, Mr. Antonio Guterres, Deputy Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, Ms. Rabab Fatima, Permanent Representative of Botswana to the UN, Mr. Collen Vixen Kelapile, SGs of WCO, ECO, IRU, TRACECA, etc.

During the welcoming speech, the Secretary General of the PS IGC TRACECA, Mr. Asset Assavbayev expressed his gratitude to the organizers of the Transport Conference, and also stressed that “despite the recovery of the transport sector after the lifting of restrictive measures, the pandemic clearly showed the need for cooperation at the international level to improve the efficiency of transportation by various modes of transport.”

On the second day of the Conference, within the framework of 6 thematic sessions, speakers from international organizations and countries shared their experience, knowledge and best practices on progress and challenges in achieving transport connectivity specific objectives of the VPoA, the transport-related SDGs, financing transport connectivity for sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, promotion of corridors, regional connectivity, integrated multimodal transport systems, etc.

During his statement at Session 4 on the topic “Accelerating digitalization for enhanced transit and trade facilitation and for sustainable and resilient recovery from COVID-19”, TRACECA Secretary General, Mr. A. Assavbayev made a presentation on the work done and plans for the implementation of international initiatives, in particular the role of digitalization in the development of the ITC TRACECA.

“... we plan to ensure the integration of participants in the transportation process on various modes of transport. I am sure that this will allow digitalization of the transport systems used in the territory of the 13 countries of the corridor, thereby simplifying the procedures for cargo transportation and border crossing. In this context, it is important to coordinate actions on digitalization issues at the international level in order to maximize the effect of the measures taken,” - Mr. A. Assavbayev highlighted at the end of his speech.

On the outcomes of the conference, the Summary Statement of the Ministerial Transport Conference of Landlocked Developing Countries was adopted, emphasizing the importance of enhancing transport connectivity for the sustainable recovery of Landlocked Developing Countries and accelerating the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action for LLDCs.