Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine can create a joint venture to introduce the principle of a "single window" in the processing of cargoes traveling along the Trans-Caspian international transport route (TITR).

This proposal came from the heads of the railways of Azerbaijan Javid Gurbanov, Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze, and Kazakhstan Kanat Alpysbaev at a meeting with the Prime Minister of Ukraine Vladimir Groysman in Kiev on April 11.

Commenting on the possibility of creating such a joint venture, Groysman noted that Ukraine welcomes various forms of interaction.

"Our association will produce a good result for our states," he said.

Ukraine, within the framework of developing its transit potential, is ready to join the creation of new transport corridors and connect to existing routes, including in the direction of South-West from Central Asia via Georgia and Azerbaijan towards Europe.

Groysman stressed that cooperation in the transport sphere with the GUAM member countries and Ukraine's partners in Central Asia is a priority shared by both the government of Ukraine and the governments of the partner countries.

"We have a full understanding at the level of the heads of government," Groysman added. In this context, he recalled that a special Logistics Committee had been set up in Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers to deal with transport issues and improve cooperation.

The head of the Ukrainian government instructed Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Kistion to work out a roadmap for joint work and reach concrete decisions.

At the meeting the heads of the railways of the four countries reached an agreement to continue work over expanding the geography of cooperation within the framework of TITR to enter the EU countries, according to the Azerbaijan Railways.

Following the meeting, the sides signed a protocol.

The trans-Caspian international transport route runs through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and further through Turkey and Ukraine to Europe. The route was launched with the establishment of its Coordinating Committee in October 2013.

In October 2016, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Georgia signed an agreement on the establishment of the International Association of TITR, whose office is located in Astana. Its activities are aimed at attracting transit and foreign trade cargo, as well as on the development of integrated logistics products via TITR.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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