UNITED NATIONS Project Working Group SPECIAL PROGRAMME on Transport FOR THE ECONOMIES and Border Crossing OF CENTRAL ASIA (SPECA) SPECA PWG-TBC REPORT OF THE 12TH SESSION OF THE SPECA PROJECT WORKING GROUP ON TRANSPORT AND BORDER CROSSING1 13-14 March 2007 1 This report has been issued without formal editing TABLE OF CONTENTS pages I. ORGANIZATION OF THE SESSION .................................................................................... 3 A. Attendance................................................................................................................................. 3 B. Opening of the session .............................................................................................................. 3 II. PROCEEDINGS .................................................................................................................... 4-5 III. MAJOR CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................. 5-9 IV. ADOPTION OF THE REPORT ............................................................................................... 9 V. ANNEXES ................................................................................................................................ 9 1. Agenda of the 12th session of SPECA PWG-TBC ................................................... 10-11 2. List of participants .................................................................................................... 12-17 3. Country statements .................................................................................................... 18-37 4. Maps of Road and Rail Networks in the SPECA region........................................... 38-40 5. Project proposal: Identification and Analysis of Transport Routes from the Countries of Central Asia to Afghanistan and the Port of Karachi (Pakistan) .......................................................................... 41-52 6. List of rail, road and intermodal transport routes for the analysis Time/Cost-Distance........................................................................ 53-58 7. SPECA PWG-TBC Programme of Work 2008-2009 .............................................. 59-61 8. Draft Agenda of the 13th session of the SPECA PWG-TBC ........................................ 62 I. ORGANIZATION OF THE SESSION 1. The 12th session of Project Working Group on Transport and Border Crossing (PWG-TBC) under the framework of SPECA took place on 13-14 March 2007 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The session was hosted by the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Tajikistan, and was organized jointly with the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the lead SPECA country in the field of transport. The session was conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation into Russian language. The Agenda of the session is enclosed as Annex 1. A. Attendance 2. Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Azerbaijan Republic, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan participated in the session. Representatives of UNECE, UNESCAP, EC, USAID, OSCE, Islamic Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and private sector also attended the session. The list of participants is enclosed as Annex 2. B. Opening of the session 3. The session was opened by H.E. Mr. Abdurakhim Ashurovich Ashurov, Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Tajikistan, and H.E. Mr. Azat Gabbasovich Bekturov, Vice-Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Kazakhstan. 4. Mr. Ashurov welcomed participants to the session and briefed them on the progress achieved in the development of the transport sector of the Republic of Tajikistan. He stressed that Tajikistan is open to cooperation in the development of international transport dialog as well as partnership among transport providers and users of transport services on the basis of trust and cooperation, and expressed his hope that the session would further contribute to strengthening and development of relationship between the countries. 5. Mr. Bekturov noted the importance of continuation of regional cooperation under the framework of SPECA, and reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s support to the Programme. He also expressed his gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan for its initiative to host the 12th session of the PWG-TBC in Dushanbe, which clearly demonstrates close cooperation among the SPECA countries. 6. Mr. Barry Cable, Director of Transport and Tourism Division of UNESCAP, delivered the statement on behalf of Mr. Kim Hak-Su, the Executive Secretary of UNESCAP. In his statement, the Executive Secretary updated the session on the UNESCAP transport activities and the initiatives in the wider context of SPECA, and expressed his gratitude to the Ministries of Transport and Communications of Tajikistan and Kazakhstan for the excellent arrangements made for the joint organization of the session, and to the Research Institute on Transport and Communications (NIITK Almaty) for its invaluable support to SPECA PWG-TBC. - 3 - 7. Mr. Michalis Adamantiadis, Chief of section of the Transport Division, on behalf of Mr. Marek Belka, the Executive Secretary of UNECE, welcomed the participants and expressed his gratitude to the Government of Tajikistan for holding the meeting in Dushanbe, and to the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Kazakhstan (the lead SPECA country in the field of transport) for its work and contribution to the Programme. II. PROCEEDINGS 8. Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Azerbaijan Republic, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Republic of Tajikistan presented their country reports. They outlined new projects and initiatives at the national level in the field of transport, progress in establishment and strengthening of national transport facilitation coordinating mechanisms, as well as in accession to and implementation of international agreements and conventions. The country statements are enclosed as Annex 3. 9. The Representative of Kazakhstan presented the high-quality maps of Rail and Road Networks in the SPECA region (Annex 4), which were published with the financial support from the Islamic Development Bank, as well as the internal resources of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Representative of Kazakhstan, as the Chairman of the PWG-TBC, also introduced the SPECA PWG-TBC Programme of Work 2008- 2009, developed in line with the Almaty Program of Actions (2003) and the Busan Declaration on Transport Development in Asia and the Pacific (2006). 10. Ms. Bekmagambetova, a representative of the Research Institute on Transport and Communications, presented the new project proposal on “Identification and analysis of transport routes from the countries of Central Asia to Afghanistan and to port of Karachi (Pakistan)”, developed at the initiative of NIITK. She also updated the session on the status of the projects of common interest to SPECA countries: “Analysis of Euro-Asian of transport routes in the TRACECA corridor” and “Transport routes from the countries of the Central Asia/SPECA to the port of Bandar-Abbas”. 11. The NIITK representative also reported on the progress made to develop of the databases of road and rail routes and border crossings in the SPECA region, as well as to enhance of the database format on intermodal transport infrastructure. Also, she introduced the SPECA Guide on road wayside facilities, Phase I – Kazakhstan, prepared by the Institute. 12. Representatives of UNECE made presentations on the joint UNECE /UNESCAP Project on Developing Euro-Asian Transport Linkages; UNECE Pilot Project on the facilitation of participation of Central Asian and Caucasus countries in the meetings of the UNECE Inland Transport Committee and selected subsidiary bodies; Requirements for the efficient use of the TIR Convention and Harmonization Convention in the SPECA region; Accession to and implementation of international conventions recommended by the PWG; and the Information centre of the Pan- European program on transport, public health services and an environment (THE PEP). 13. Representatives of UNESCAP informed the session on the accessions to the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Asian Highway Network and the signing of the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network, reviewed recommendations for establishment and functioning of national coordinating mechanisms for transport facilitation, and - 4 - presented the analysis on selection of major routes within the SPECA region using the UNESCAP time/cost methodology. 14. The representative of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) informed the session that the OSCE Economic Forum of 2006, inter alias, recognized the economic and transport challenges faced by OSCE member countries. To address these challenges, a high- level conference on the prospects for the development of trans-Asian and Eurasian transit transportation through Central Asia till the year 2015 will be held in the second half of 2007 in Dushanbe at the invitation of the Government of Tajikistan. The Conference would likely feature the issues of infrastructure, border crossing, financing, and implementation of the Almaty Program of Action, and, therefore, be of direct relevance for the seven landlocked SPECA members. III. MAJOR CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS