Azerbaijani delegation takes part in International Transport Conference in Turkmenbashi
On November 28, an international conference of transport ministers of the countries parties to the Lapis Lazuli Agreement (Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey) on transit and transport cooperation was held in the city of Turkmenbashi.
The Azerbaijani delegation led by First Deputy Prime Minister Yagub Eyyubov took part in the conference.
The Azerbaijani delegation included Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies Ramin Guluzade, Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC Javid Gurbanov, Chairman of Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company Rauf Veliyev, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Turkmenistan Hasan Zeynalov, Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov and others officials.
The conference was held in accordance with the order of the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in order to ensure the speedy implementation of the provisions of the Agreement on the establishment of the international transport route Lapis Lazuli.
A congratulatory message from President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov addressed to the conference participants was read out by Deputy Prime Minister of Turkmenistan Mammetkhan Chakiyev.
Speaking at the plenary meeting, First Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Yagub Eyyubov said that Azerbaijan would make every effort to implement the project of Lapis Lazuli. The transport field is one of the strategic directions of the Azerbaijani-Turkmen partnership. Ample prospects exist for the creation and development of transit-transport and logistics infrastructure, the First Deputy Prime Minister said.
Recalling the official visit of Azerbaijani President to Turkmenistan, which took place recently, Yagub Eyyubov said that during the visit, a special attention was paid to cooperation in the transport sector. 9 agreements out of 21 documents signed during the visit concern transit transport cooperation. Calling the ports opened this year in Baku and Turkmenbashi Port as main traffic terminals of the transport route Lapis Lazuli, Yagub Eyubov said at the first stage transshipment capacity of the Baku Port will be 15 million tons per year, at the next stage - 25 million tons. First Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan called transit transport cooperation one of the significant factors of trade and economic cooperation between the countries. The First Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan recalled that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, commissioned a year ago with the efforts of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia, which connects Asia with Europe is the shortest route.
First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Achilbai Ramatov, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey Jahit Turhan, Minister of Transport of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Tahmasi Mohd Hamid and Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Akaki Sagirashvili, First Deputy Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee Viktor Guminsky spoke at the plenary meeting.
Expressing support for the implementation of the Lapis Lazuli project, the representative of the CIS said that this project will become the eastern branch of the intercontinental projects implemented. Speaking about the importance of diversifying transport corridors, Viktor Guminsky quoted President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev as saying that the operation of transport corridors opens up new transit and transport opportunities, expands bilateral and multilateral trade and economic ties.
Speaking at the section “The Role of Interstate Cooperation in Enhancing the Transit-Transport Corridor, the Importance of Logistics Companies in the Development of Transit-Transport Corridors” Elmir Velizade, Deputy Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, said that the development of transport and transit infrastructure is one of the main directions of the state policies for the all-round development of Azerbaijan, ensuring its stable and consistent progress in the coming years. 12 Strategic Road Maps covering all major sectors of the economy were adopted in Azerbaijan at the end of 2016.
Along with other sectors, the Road Maps also focus on logistics and trade and highlights the strengthening of the leading role of Azerbaijan as a regional logistics and trade center. Located at the crossroads of international transport corridors such as North-South, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, South-West and Lapis Lazuli, Azerbaijan has all the conditions to become the core of the logistics chain connecting Europe and Asia.
Realizing this goal, making investments in infrastructure projects will increase the country's GDP directly by 240 million manat and indirectly by 140 million manat, making up a total of 380 million manat and creating 5 500 new jobs.
It is expected that thanks to the East-West and North-South international transport routes the country’s GDP will increase by 7 percent annually. Azerbaijan’s participation in all categories of cargo transportation, such as container-type, dry, liquid and packed cargo will be provided.
Speaking in the section “Multimodal transportations and their turnover,” Taleh Ziyadov, Director General of Baku International Sea Trade Port CJSC, said that our country’s location is at the intersection of West-East and North-South transport corridors, and the political stability in the country make the Baku Port attractive for foreign investors. He said that the dynamics of cargo transportation in the Baku Port is increasing from year to year. Transshipment of containers increased by 50.6 percent to 18 728 TEU, and the number of passengers using the port services for 10 months of the current year increased by 48.5 percent and amounted to 39 215 passengers.
Today, the Baku Port is capable of carrying out all types of port cargo transportation. According to Taleh Ziyadov, at present the port is at the final stage of tests for full automated control. All this allows for efficient and fast cargo transportation and reloading of discharged cargoes on international transport routes, including Lapis Lazuli.
Along with plenary sessions, the conference also included sections on the topics “The Role of Interstate Cooperation in Enhancing Transit Transport Corridors”, “The Importance of Logistics Companies in Developing Transit Transport Corridors”, “Infrastructure and Transport Opportunities” and “Multimodal Transportation and Their Turnover”. An exhibition was organized within the conference.
It is to be recalled that the Agreement on the Lapis Lazuli route was signed on November 15, 2017 in Ashgabat on the sidelines of VII Regional Conference on Economic Cooperation on Afghanistan (RECCA - Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan) between Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.
The implementation of this document will further increase the economic integration of the region and significantly increase the volume of trade. The international transport corridor Lapis Lazuli opens up new opportunities for increasing the volume of freight traffic on the specified route.
The Forum was attended by delegations of the countries parties to the Agreement, experts from a number of countries around the world, including representatives of transport companies, sectoral ministries and agencies, international organizations, and the media.
The conference participants adopted a final declaration, which recognizes the need to continue international cooperation in the creation and development of transport and transit corridors, as one of the important elements of sustainable development. “We also stress the importance of the Agreement Lapis Lazuli between Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey on transit and transport cooperation to ensure stable regional development. We note the need to hold regular meetings between representatives of the relevant authorities of the countries parties to the Agreement in order to practically implement its provisions. We also welcome the interest of other countries in joining the Agreement.
We emphasize the need for coordination efforts and cooperation in mobilizing financial and technical assistance to countries from UN organizations and other international organizations, relevant international financial institutions, multilateral and bilateral donors and the private sector in order to strengthen links between all modes of transport and develop transport transit corridors” - stated in the document.
