II CEF: The Caspian "five" will adopt a roadmap for the development of transit routes
“Kazakhstan has outlined big plans for the formation of cross-border hubs that will increase the potential of the North-South and East-West transport corridors. These are the seaports of Aktau and Kuryk, the Khorgos dry port, the Central Asia International Center for Industrial Cooperation and others,” Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov said at the plenary session of the Second Caspian Economic Forum in Moscow.
Considering that such infrastructure nodes contribute to the expansion of trade flows to the Caspian countries and international markets, the Prime Minister focused on the initiative of the President of Kazakhstan to create a Caspian food hub.
Alikhan Smailov also stated the need to develop and simultaneously eliminate bottlenecks on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route in order to expand cargo flows between Europe, Central Asia and China.
“Today we came up with an initiative: we agreed with our colleagues that we will start this work right now. We will develop an appropriate roadmap and start expanding the potential of our transit routes,” he said.
An important role, according to the Prime Minister, is played by interaction in the field of ecology, since more than 15 million people live in the coastal zones of the Caspian Sea.
“Preserving the ecological balance is the most important task for our countries. The problems of the sea are associated with the depletion of its biological resources, the risks of serious pollution as a result of the extraction of raw materials and the transportation of goods. In this regard, we urge you to support the resumption of the activities of the Caspian Environmental Program,” Alikhan Smailov emphasized.
In conclusion, Alikhan Smailov called on the countries of the region to intensify joint steps in the field of tourism: to take measures to launch combined tours, develop cruise tourism and liberalize visa and migration regimes.
The Prime Minister added that a key step for the development of regional tourism was the preparation of an appropriate agreement between the countries of the Caspian Sea basin.
ORIENT news
Photo: primeminister.kz
