Azerbaijan to develop e-consignment notes for trade with support of UN Economic Commission

The Azerbaijani government will develop a support system for electronic consignment notes in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and implement pilot projects involving all stakeholders in trade operations along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR).

UNECE’s Head of Communications and spokesperson, Jean Rodriguez, confirmed the information Caliber.Az reports citing local media.

According to the representative, UNECE launched a partnership with Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Digital Development and Transport in February 2025. The initiative is based on the roadmap for the streamlined and sustainable implementation of the UNECE Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR Convention), along with its Protocol and UN/CEFACT standards for the adoption of electronic consignment notes (eCMR).

“Our efforts aim to make TITR a more efficient, cost-effective, and secure route for international trade. Since the adoption of the SPECA Roadmap for TITR Digitalization in November 2023, the focus has been on capacity building and training for public and private sector specialists,” Rodriguez noted.

A key step in this process was the international seminar on trade facilitation and digital transformation, which advanced digital solutions in the ports of Baku, Aktau (Kazakhstan), and Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan), with Rodriguez noting that the active involvement of these three countries indicates their commitment to digitalization.

UNECE has been working for over 75 years to harmonize technical standards and legal frameworks in trade and transport, facilitating cross-border operations and economic integration. The organization is also enhancing Euro-Asian transport links in cooperation with the 36 member states as well as with United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), focusing on optimizing rail and road corridors between Asia and Europe to reduce logistics costs.

Additionally, UNECE is exploring advanced technologies like blockchain, IoT, and AI to improve connectivity. “Blockchain can enhance transparency and security, ensuring an immutable record of transactions, which is crucial for tracking goods’ origins, ESG compliance, and fraud prevention,” Rodriguez concluded.

By Nazrin Sadigova