The 6th Meeting of the Ministers in charge of Transport of the Organization of Turkic States was convened on 28 October 2022 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The meeting was hosted by H.E. Ilkhom Makhkamov, Minister of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and moderated by the OTS Secretary General Baghdad Amreyev, and attended by H.E. Rashad Nabiyev, Minister of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan, H.E. Tilek Tekebaev, Minister of Transport and Communications of the Kyrgyz Republic, H.E. Almaz Idyrysov, Vice-Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, H.E. Dr.Ömer Fatih Sayan, Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Türkiye, Dr. Éva Kállai, Deputy Secretary of State for Transportation Strategy, Ministry of Technology and Industry of Hungary, and H.E. Yazguli Mamedov, Ambassador of Turkmenistan in Uzbekistan.
Addressing the meeting, Secretary General Amreyev emphasized that the advancement of transport cooperation among the Member States had always been one of the most important cooperation topics for the OTS.
Underlining that the Member States are situated at the heart of Eurasia and provide commercial crossroads linking Europe and Asia, Secretary General highlighted the role of the Trans-Caspian International Middle East-West Corridor (Middle Corridor), which passes through the Member States and is increasingly becoming the safest and shortest trade route between Europe and Asia.
B. Amreyev shared with the Ministers current acvtivities and plans of the Organization as well as his views and proposals on enhancing transport and transit cooperation within the Turkic region in the face current geopolitical changes and global challenges.
In thier statements, the Heads of Delegations expressed their eagerness to continue their efforts on taking the necessary measures to facilitate transport and transit operations along the Middle Corridor by simplifying administrative and visa procedures for drivers, providing discounts for Ro-ro and Ro-pax transportation and the necessary additional transit permits, by stimulating national carriers, as well as joint launch of cargo ferries in the Caspian Sea.
The Parties welcomed the outcomes of the First Meeting of the Heads of the Railway Administrations and the Fifth Meeting of the OTS Sister Ports held within the framework of the Ministerial meeting and encouraged practical cooperation among them in the exchange of experience and best practices, as well as the implementation of joint projects in the field of transport and logistics.
The Ministers endorsed the texts of the “Agreement on International Combined Freight Transport among the Governments of the Member States of the Organization of Turkic States” and “Transport Connectivity Program of the Organization of Turkic States” and agreed to prepare them for signing during the upcoming OTS Summit to be held in November 2022 in Samarkand.
The Parties also agreed to carry out close cooperation on the digitalization of transport procedures, including through the introduction by the interested Parties of the e-Permit and e-TIR systems and the intensification of work in the direction of e-CMR system.
Following the meeting, the Parties attended the launching ceremony of the e-Permit project between Türkiye and Uzbekistan and agreed to consider the implementation of a similar system based on their experience.
As an outcome document of the meeting, the Heads of Delegations signed the Communique of the Sixth Meeting of Ministers in Charge of Transport.
