Turkmenistan inaugurates global project to eliminate customs barriers

The inauguration ceremony of the pilot project "Global Transit Document - Connecting the World Digitally" has been held at the Avaza national resort, in Turkmenistan.

The project will provide a unique opportunity to provide container transportation without mandatory customs clearance across several borders on all modes of transport using blockchain technology, the pro-government Orient.tm reported on August 18. 

The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Turkmen government, heads of the Permanent Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Commission of the Program of the International Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (IPC TRACECA), the CIS Intergovernmental Council of Road Builders and the International Center for Transport Diplomacy.

The implementation of the project should contribute to strengthening the global transport system, overcoming the global challenges of stable interconnection, accelerating digitalization processes and facilitating transit and trade procedures for a sustainable and stable recovery of the global economy in the post-COVID-19 period.

Those present at the event noted that the digitalization of transport is a powerful resource for integration that can provide great economic and political benefits to the states of the region, as well as contribute to the compatibility of their strategic interests.

In the final joint statement of the meeting participants, it is noted that in the next 30 days a Plan of practical steps will be developed for the implementation of the Pilot Project of the Global Transit Document in 2022-2024.

The delegates also called on the countries of the region to actively join in the implementation of the Pilot Project, as it is able to make an important contribution to the economic and social development of Central Asia and the Eurasian region as a whole.