[Index]
The Euro-Asian transport
links in focus
Geneva, 30 March 2004 - Globalization
and liberalization of national economies
is leading to a sharp increase in trade
and transport between Asia and Europe.
Most of the traffic has so far been following
maritime routes. However, Governments
and international organizations have started
to look at Euro-Asian land transport links
as possible alternatives to the existing
sea routes.
The identification of
the most appropriate Euro-Asian inland
transport routes and the conditions for
their development was the main focus of
the first Expert Group Meeting on Developing
Euro-Asian Transport Linkages, which was
held on 9-11 March 2004 in Almaty (Kazakhstan).
Organized jointly by
the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the meeting
brought together representatives from
16 countries in the Euro-Asian region,
namely Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Bulgaria, China, Georgia, Islamic
Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Romania, Russian Federation, Tajikistan,
Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Representatives of other
UN Agencies, the European Commission,
the World Bank, EBRD, Asian Development
Bank and Islamic Development Bank, as
well as of a large number of other international
governmental and non-governmental organizations
also attended the meeting.
The meeting agreed on
the main elements of a strategy for the
development of Euro-Asian Transport Links,
including focusing on major routes along
the four main Euro-Asian Corridors that
had been agreed upon at international
level and that represent an extension
of the Pan-European Transport Corridors
further East. Those Euro-Asian Corridors
are the following:
- Transsiberian:
Europe - Russian Federation - Japan,
with three branches to: Kazakhstan –
China; Korean Peninsula; and Mongolia
– China;
- TRACECA: Eastern Europe –
across Black Sea – Caucasus –
across Caspian Sea – Central Asia
- Southern route: Southeastern
Europe – Turkey –Islamic
Republic of Iran, with two branches
to: Central Asia – China; and
South Asia – Southeast Asia/Southern
China
- North-South: North Europe –
Russian Federation, with three branches
to: Caucasus – Persian Gulf; Central
Asia – Persian Gulf; across Caspian
Sea – Islamic Republic of Iran
– Persian Gulf.
Other elements of the
strategy adopted were that major routes
along these corridors should encompass
intermodal aspects, including transshipment
points, and that border crossing problems
should be addressed.
The activities to carry
out this strategy will be developed in
three phases over the years 2004, 2005
and 2006. The first phase, to be carried
out in 2004, would consist of the identification
of major routes of Euro-Asian importance,
the collection of related infrastructure
and traffic data, consolidation and analysis
of this data, and presentation of a preliminary
assessment of priority Euro-Asian transport
routes and priority projects along these
routes as well as financial needs, at
the second Expert Group Meeting to be
held in the autumn 2004.
Other activities aimed
at removing border crossing obstacles
and hindrances, implementation of major
international transport agreements and
conventions and formulation and implementation
of national action plans will follow.
This joint UNECE-UNESCAP
initiative is part of a wider UN Development
Account Project on Capacity-building in
developing interregional land and land-cum-sea
transport linkages, implemented by the
five UN Regional Commissions. This project
is aimed at assisting member States of
the five UN Regional Commissions in strengthening
their national capacities for developing
interregional transport linkages and at
promoting interregional cooperation to
facilitate interregional trade and tourism.
For additional information please contact:
Mr. Jose Capel Ferrer, Director,
or
Mr. Michalis P. Adamantiadis, Regional
Adviser
UNECE Transport Division
Palais des Nations
CH – 1211 Geneva 10
Phone: +41(0)22 917 24 01, 917 11
28
Fax: +41(0)22 917 00 39
E-mail: [email protected]
- [email protected]
Web site: http://www.unece.org/trans
Ref: ECE/TRANS/04/P03