OSCE seminar discusses transport and border crossing facilitation in Turkmenistan

ASHGABAT, 17 November 2009 - Twenty senior officials from Turkmenistan wrapped up a two-day OSCE-supported seminar in Ashgabat today on legal aspects of international transport, harmonizing customs controls on goods and easing border crossings. 

Experts from the OSCE, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) presented and discussed measures and techniques to better co-ordinate the work of domestic border agencies, to enhance trans-border co-operation between agencies and to further strengthen the partnership between public and private sectors.

Participants represented various transport ministries and agencies, the State Customs and Border Services. The seminar was organized to build national capacity, notably on the accession to and the implementation of legal instruments related to the facilitation of border crossing for legitimate trade, international transport and harmonization of customs controls of goods.

"Border crossing facilitation is a priority on the OSCE's agenda, especially in the light of the incoming 2010 Kazakh OSCE Chairmanship," said Ambassador Arsim Zekolli, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. "The workshop reaffirms the OSCE's commitment to support the host country's efforts in strengthening its transport infrastructure and facilitating trade with its neighbours."

Youlian Guenkov, Head of the Transports International Routiers (TIR) Audit and Admission Department at the IRU, added: "According to our latest assessments, about 40 per cent of transport time is lost due to delays at border crossings. The seminar contributed to addressing the causes of these delays in order to maintain the benefits of the TIR transit system."

Robert Nowak, a UNECE Economic Affairs Officer, noted: "Acceding to and implementing more effectively the UNECE legal instruments in the area of international transport by Turkmenistan and other countries of the region can significantly increase the transit potential of Central Asia and make border crossings more efficient for businesses and more secure for governments."

The seminar was a national follow-up to a regional seminar on increasing co-operation at railway border crossings in Central Asia, held in Balkanabat, Turkmenistan, in July this year.