Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan launch eTIR transit system

Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have begun using the eTIR system for cross-border transit transport, Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee has said.

The committee noted that a shipment of televisions and audio equipment traveling east from Azerbaijan was transported across the Caspian Sea to the Turkmenbashi port before entering Uzbekistan, Caliber.Az reports.

The operation marked the first eTIR shipment linking Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan under a single transit procedure.

In the westbound direction, four trucks carrying cotton, juices, bottled water, and confectionery products from Turkmenistan completed customs clearance at the Turkmenbashi port before crossing the Caspian Sea by ferry and arriving at the Baku International Sea Trade Port.

The system was introduced through cooperation between the customs authorities of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the International Road Transport Union (IRU), and its partner organisations — ABADA, THADA, and AIRCUZ.

The project enables the real-time electronic exchange of information, reduces paperwork, minimises risks, speeds up customs procedures, lowers costs, and simplifies logistics and international trade.

According to the committee, the introduction of the eTIR system is expected to enhance the attractiveness of the Middle Corridor and increase cargo traffic along the route.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov