High-ranking transport officials from Turkey, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Afghanistan discussed the development of the Lapis Lazuli Route at a meeting in Istanbul on Thursday, October 3.
The meeting noted that the Lapis Lazuli countries have a great opportunity to facilitate trade, strengthen cultural ties and support economic development in the region through this project. The participants discussed infrastructure investments, tariffs and customs practices on road and rail transport, administrative issues and security measures.
Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said that they will first focus on addressing infrastructure deficiencies, upgrading and completing missing connections along the corridor. “Investments in ports, railways and roads are necessary to increase the capacity and commercial attractiveness of the corridor,” he said.
Pointing to the importance of simplifying and digitalizing customs and transit procedures, Minister Uraloğlu stressed: “We will make the corridor more attractive for international trade by reducing bureaucratic barriers and harmonizing our procedures, as well as reducing transit times.” He also called for a focus on rail transportation to activate the line as soon as possible, according to the website of the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.
The focus of the ministerial meeting was to develop a comprehensive risk management plan to address potential threats to transport activities in the corridor and coordinate at each stage of the transport and logistics process.
It was decided to hold meetings at the technical level at least twice a year and meet once a year at the ministerial level to assess progress and lessons learned. Turkmenistan will host the next ministerial meeting on the Lapis Lazuli Corridor.
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