Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan Are Testing the Caspian Route Using the e-TIR System
LOGISTICS, July 22 | ORIENT. This week, the practical phase of the coordination program to expand the use of the international digital system "e-TIR" will begin at the Turkmenbashi International Seaport. The key event will be the organization of a pilot cargo shipment along the trilateral Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan route.
Turkmenistan, one of the first countries in the region to successfully integrate e-TIR technology into customs operations, is moving to implement the system on key multimodal routes. The practical events, which will be held from July 22 to 24 with the support of the UNECE, UNCTAD, and experts from the International Road Transport Union (IRU), are designed to test the seamless transfer of digital data during the transshipment of cargo from sea to road.
The e-TIR system, which replaces traditional paper TIR carnets with digital data exchange, has already proven its effectiveness at road crossings. Now we are talking about the practical coordination of customs procedures of three states at once during Caspian transit:
Advance notification: Turkmenistan's customs authorities receive electronic cargo data even before the ferry from Baku docks at the port of Turkmenbashi.
Minimizing port downtime: Using a unified digital system expedites the clearance of transit trucks leaving the port towards the Uzbek border.
End-to-end control: The entire chain, from dispatch in Azerbaijan to the final destination in Uzbekistan, becomes completely transparent for customs services of all three countries.
Conducting such practical trips and training seminars in Turkmenbashi, led by IRU experts, strengthens the port's status as a key digital hub on the Middle Corridor, capable of ensuring the highest possible transit speeds between Asia and Europe.
