UNUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Note for the Press

United Arab Emirates joins the TIR Convention

Geneva, 26 April 2007 -- On 20 April 2007, the United Arab Emirates deposited its instrument of accession to the TIR Convention. As a result, the Convention will enter into force for the United Arab Emirates on 20 October 2007.

The accession of the United Arab Emirates brings the total number of Contracting Parties to the TIR Convention to 68. To The TIR Convention covers Europe, North America and several countries in South America. Also, it increasingly reaches out to countries in North Africa and the Middle East.

The TIR Convention facilitates the movement of goods across as many borders as necessary with limited intervention by Customs authorities at intermediate borders. To this end, operators use a commonly accepted Customs transit document - the TIR Carnet, which also serves as a guarantee for the customs duties and taxes of the goods in transit.

In 2006, almost 40,000 transport operators carried out over 3.5 million international transports utilizing the TIR Carnets. The TIR Convention is one of the most successful international transport conventions and the only universal customs transit system in existence. It remains one of the most successful international legal instruments developed and managed under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission of Europe.

The accession of the United Arab Emirates constitutes a significant step towards the further implementation of the TIR system in the Middle East and Africa.

For more information consult: http://www.unece.org/tir/welcome.html

Or contact:

Mr. José Capel Ferrer, Director or
Robert Nowak, Economic Affairs Officer,
Transport Division
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Phone: +41 (0) 22 917 24 00 /917 12 67
Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 00 39
E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]

Ref: ECE/TRANS/07/N06