Conference on Caucasus transit corridor kicks off in Georgia
By Nazrin Gadimova
The third regional conference on the development of trade and the Caucasus transit corridor started in Batumi, Georgia on June 24.
The conference is supported by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Department of Revenue, Department of Justice, the UN Economic Commission, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the International Rail Transport Committee.
The two-day conference is attended by representatives of ministries, customs services, transportation agencies, railroad and sea ports of Ukraine, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Kazakhstan, as well as international organizations.
The promotion of regional trade and the introduction of international standards in the field of transport and logistics are on the agenda of the conference.
The conference aims to increase the knowledge about the Caucasus transit corridor, evaluate the results based on "one window" principle and the development of the transit corridor.
The agenda also includes the opening of a representative office of the international organization Supply Chain Council in Georgia. Multi-modal routes of land, rail and maritime transportation via TRACECA (Europe-Caucasus-Asia) corridor are also being considered.
TRACECA is an international transport program involving the European Union and 14 member states of the Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia regions.
It has a permanent Secretariat, financed by the European Commission, in Baku, Azerbaijan, and a regional office in Odessa, Ukraine. Since 2009 the organization has been entirely financed by member countries.
Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Moldova, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan participate in the TRACECA program.