Translated with AI
On May 16, the second meeting of transport ministers in the “Central Asia – China” format was held in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, during which the parties discussed expanding cooperation in the transport and logistics sector, the press service of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Tatarstan reported.
The meeting was attended by delegations from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The Tajik side was represented by Transport Minister Azim Ibrohim.
The parties exchanged views on the current state of the transport industry in the region and in the world, and discussed ways to intensify economic, trade and humanitarian cooperation between China and the countries of Central Asia.
According to the Minister of Transport of Tajikistan, sustainable development of transport requires coordinated efforts. He outlined priority areas of cooperation, including the development of multimodal routes, including an effective connection of road and rail, in particular: the railway corridor "Ktiay – Kyrgyzstan – Tajikistan – Afghanistan – Iran", the corridor "China – Tajikistan – Uzbekistan – Turkmenistan – Iran – Turkey – Europe", the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), which opens up additional opportunities for export and import through the Caspian Sea; as well as the digitalization of corridors, the expansion of international transportation, the transition to sustainable transportation taking into account the climate agenda, as well as joint training of personnel.
Ibrohim noted the importance of creating a Multilateral Transport Cooperation Program that would cover infrastructure projects, harmonization of standards, digital solutions and the development of logistics hubs.
During the meeting, two memorandums of understanding were signed: on humanitarian exchanges in the field of sustainable transport and on the digitalization of permits for international road transport.
The ministers advocated simplifying procedures for international road transport and transferring the mechanism for exchanging foreign permit forms to an electronic format.
