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Regional TIR Seminar held in Baku

Geneva 5 October 2001
Under the co-chairmanship of Mr. Aydin Aliyev, First Deputy Chairman of the State Customs Committee and Mr. Michal Olszewski, Chairman of the TIRExB, the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in co-operation with the TIRExB and the TIR secratariat, has organised a two day regional seminar on TIR, which was held in Baku on 2 and 3 October 2001. More than seventy participants, representatives from Customs authorities, national associations and transport companies from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazachstan, Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan as well as representatives from international organizations such as ESCAP, UNDP, ECO and the IRU were extensively informed of the background, scope and application of the TIR Convention.
Under the moderation of Mr. Rainer Ehmcke, member of the TIRExB, part of the seminar was dedicated to the practical application of the TIR procedure and the general transport situation in various Contracting Parties, such as Azerbaijan, Belarus, the Russian Federation, Turkey and the European Community. The lively discussions following the presentations clearly showed the keen interest of the region in the increased use of the TIR Carnet as the best means to meet the growing trade relations with Western Europe and the other countries of Asia and North Africa. In 2000, the region of the Caucasus, Black Sea and Central Asia accounted for 1,571,000 issued TIR Carnets, more than half of the total amount issued in 2000. At present 1,485 holders from the region are registered with the International TIR Data Bank, maintained by the TIR secretariat in Geneva.
The TIRExB and the TIR secretariat would like to express their appreciation to the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the excellent organization and the succesful outcome of the seminar as well as for the the warm hospitality extended to all participants.