The 2nd Meeting of the Heads of Railway Administrations of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) took place on 14 September 2023 in Istanbul under the moderation of Mirvokhid Azimov, Deputy Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States.
The meeting was attended by the Secretary General of OTG K.Omuraliev, as well as heads and deputy heads of railway companies of Uzbekistan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan. Turkmenistan was represented by a delegation headed by the Chairman of the Agency “Turkmen Railways” Azat Atamyradov.
The parties discussed the possibilities of establishing alternative, cost-effective, and timely international railway corridors within the OTS domain and agreed to continue their joint efforts aimed at increasing the volume of cargo transportation.
The meeting participants also exchanged views on improving legal frameworks for multimodal transport, fostering public-private partnerships, and launching regular block train services in these corridors.
They welcomed the launch of the first freight block train from Türkiye to Uzbekistan in December 2022 and expressed support for similar endeavors under the aegis of the OTS.
Parties discussed the challenges in multimodal transport raised by private sector entities and agreed to explore options for competitive tariffs for rail transportation to activate multimodal transportation and maximize the potential of existing corridors.
According to the portal “Turkmenistan: The Golden Age”, during the meeting Azat Atamyradov presented the principles of the international transport diplomacy of Turkmenistan, the country’s existing potential in the railway sector, activities to improve the material and technical base of the industry, as well as the formation of new transport and communication networks.
The head of “Turkmen Railways” spoke about railway projects implemented in Turkmenistan. In particular, he briefed on the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway and the Aqina-Andkhoy station, which is part of the Lapis Lazuli Transport Corridor that connects China and Europe through Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan is also part of the China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey-Europe transport corridor and the Europe-Caucasus-Asia international transport corridor.
Noting the fact that special attention is paid to cooperation with the member states of the Organization of Turkic States, the head of Turkmen delegation expressed hope for further expansion of cooperation in the field of transport and logistics, activities for the revival of the Great Silk Road.
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The Multimodal Transport and Logistics Forum, organized by the Organization of Turkic States in collaboration with TRACECA, the Railway Administrations of the Member States, and private sector entities in the transport sector, took place on 13-14 September 2023 in Istanbul.
The forum, which was attended by more than 300 participants, brought together representatives of the public and private sectors, leading transport and logistics companies, business circles and stakeholders from the OTG region.
Turkmenistan was represented by such transport and logistics companies as “Transport and Logistics Center of Turkmenistan”, “Halkara Turkmen Logistik”, “Döwrebap ulag merkezi”, “Meno Logistics Turkmen”.
The Forum served as a platform for constructive discussions, knowledge exchange and joint initiatives aimed at promoting the development of multimodal transport routes.
Addressing the Forum with a welcoming speech, the OTS Secretary General Ambassador Kubanychbek Omuraliev stressed the importance of such events in achieving key objectives, including the enhancement of competitiveness of transport corridors in the Turkic region, the establishment of favorable tariffs for businesses, and the development of modern transportation infrastructure as outlined in the Samarkand Declaration and Transport Connectivity Program.
The Forum included various sessions addressing topics such as railway connectivity potential, multimodal transport corridor development, and the challenges and opportunities businesses encounter when using multimodal transport solutions.///nCa, 18 September 2023
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