Contribution of entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan to the implementation of the trasport and transit capacity of the country
Turkmenistan's chairmanship in the Organization for Economic Cooperation (ECO) in 2021 has become an important stage in the implementation of the country's foreign policy. Considering the ECO as a platform for multilateral cooperation, based on the mutual economic interests of the countries of the vast region and the development of bilateral relations with the members of the Organization. Turkmenistan has developed a Concept of Chairmanship, in which it identified as a strategic task the promotion of comprehensive partnership opportunities within the ECO in the following: economic, trade, industrial, energy, transport and communication, cultural and humanitarian spheres.
During the period of the ECO chairmanship, more than 20 consultative meetings at the ministerial level and 23 other events provided for in the ECO calendar for 2021 took place. Turkmenistan completed the mission of its chairmanship in the Organization with the Summit of the ECO Member States, which was held on November 28 in Ashgabat.
On the eve of the Summit, a business forum was organized in Ashgabat on November 26, which was held in a hybrid format. Its main organizers were the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Economic Cooperation Organization. The purpose of the event, is to discuss economic achievements over the past 30 years since the accession of Central Asian countries to the ECO, as well as the creation of a single discussion platform on key issues of trade and economic cooperation in priority areas, including the expansion of the use of digital technologies and e-commerce platforms as a way to access new consumers both in the domestic and foreign markets; increasing investment attractiveness; development of the market of transport and logistics services in the ECO member states.
The members of the Association "Turkmen Logistics" were particularly interested in a thematic session dedicated to the transport and logistics sector, in particular, topical issues of digitalization, activation of the largest logistics centers in the region, the use of multimodal transit potential of ECO member countries.
The key role of transport in achieving the goals of economic development of ECO member countries and their full participation in modern processes is obvious and universally recognized today. In this regard, Turkmenistan regards this Organization as a real structure for the implementation of joint projects in order to intensify regional and interregional cooperation and the development of transport and communication infrastructure connecting the countries with each other.
To this end, using its economic and geographical advantages, Turkmenistan is not only actively developing transport links with all ECO countries, but has also initiated joint projects. A project was implemented with Uzbekistan to create an international transport and transit corridor Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman-Qatar. Ashgabat is also ready to work together on the development of the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Caspian Sea transport route and further through the Black Sea ports with access to Europe.
With Georgia and Turkey, Turkmenistan is implementing projects for the development of the Lapis Lazuli transport Corridor with access to European countries. Together with Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania, Turkmenistan embodies the idea of connecting the Caspian and Black Sea regions via the Caspian Sea-Black Sea international transport corridor.
A clear example of the effective combination of efforts of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Iran is the implemented joint project for the construction of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway, as well as the use and strengthening of cooperation between the Caspian ports. The construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway is an important component of the Asian International Railway Transport Corridor.
The development of the national transport infrastructure and its integration into global transport and communication links sets new goals and tasks for transport and logistics companies of Turkmenistan. In order to form a high-quality logistics services market in Turkmenistan and increase the country's role in the international transport and logistics system, the Turkmen Logistics Association was established by the private sector a year ago, which unites the country's transport and logistics and forwarding companies. The main task of the Association is to realize the transport and transit potential of Turkmenistan, and in this regard, the study and use of international experience in providing freight forwarding services is relevant.
In this regard, participation in the High-level Conference on "The importance of international cooperation in the transport sector for the sake of strengthening peace and trust", which was held on November 24 this year at the initiative of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, was constructive and useful for the Association "Turkmen Logistics". The conference was attended by representatives of the public and private sectors of transport and logistics, heads of various Unions and Associations of Central Asian countries, Russia and other states.
During the three thematic sessions, topical issues of interstate cooperation in the development of international transport corridors were discussed; cooperation with international organizations in creating favorable conditions for the sustainable development of the transport sector. The conference has become a good platform for sharing experiences, discussing joint projects and establishing new partnerships.
