Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept.3
By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend:
A two-day international conference on the role of transport and transit corridors in the region started in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan on Sept.3, a source close to the event told Trend.
Turkmenistanchr("39")s Foreign Ministry and the Road Transport Ministry are the organizers. The UN, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the International Road Transport Union (IRU) and the Intergovernmental Commission on Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) assist in holding the conference.
Turkmenistan borders with Kazakhstan, Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan on shore, and with Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Iran in the Caspian Sea.
The regional transport projects have been recently intensified. The massive reconstruction of the sea port of Turkmenbashi has started. The highways are being modernized. It is expected to commission the North-South railway based on the agreement signed between Turkmenistan, Iran and Kazakhstan in 2007.
This regional project will open a way for European and Asian countries to Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. A similar opportunity will appear for the transit of goods from South and South-East Asia, from the shores of the Indian Ocean to the North and Eastern Europe - through Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.
Edited by CN