The Secretariat of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) convened the First Coordination Committee Meeting on the Trans-Caspian and Almaty-Istanbul Corridors.
The virtual interaction jointly organized by ECO-UNECE on December 16, 2022 was chaired by Ms. El De Wit Chairperson of the Working Party on Transport Trends and Economics (WP.5), UNECE. The ECO delegation was headed by Director for Transport and Communications, Mr. Akbar Khodaei.
The en-route member countries, including the Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan were represented during the meeting by their high-level railway and customs officials. Moreover, the Representatives of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) as well as some other relevant stakeholders also attended the event.
The meeting made extensive deliberations on certain aspects of corridor management. Salient features of discussion highlighted, inter alia, the understanding about current shifts in transport and trade flows between Asia and Europe and their impact on the Trans-Caspian and Almaty,”Tehran-Istanbul corridors, potential for further diversification of multimodal inland transport routes between Asia and Europe, taking into account the views and expectations of private sector. The required measures aimed at ensuring the smooth operationalization of Trans-Caspian and Almaty,“Tehran-Istanbul corridors were also explored during the meeting.
Establishment of the “Coordination Committee” was decided at the 35th Annual Session of the Working Party on Transport Trends and Economics of UNECE (WP.5) on September 6, 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland.
