BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is almost ready for full implementation of E-TIR (Electronic International Road Transport) in the region of Organization of Turkic States member countries, UNECE Deputy Executive Secretary Dmitry Mariasin said during the 10th meeting of the heads of OTS customs services today, Trend reports.
"The E-TIR procedure recently supplemented the TIR Convention, a global tool of the UN. Those who have followed the process know that the adoption of Annex 11—which allowed the implementation of E-TIR—was a long and complex process, requiring significant efforts from customs professionals and the wider public.
Now, it is a valuable public tool available to all participating countries. This is an example of what UN conventions should look like in the future—fully digital and reflecting the modern realities of business," he explained.
Mariasin also noted that while the UN was developing Annex 11, business continued to operate, and during this time, important changes occurred.
"Customs authorities and the private sector continue to benefit from the TIR Convention, which is effectively administered by the IRU (International Road Transport Union). It helps optimize operations, reduce waiting times, improve resource allocation, save costs, and increase business revenues. We are almost ready for the full implementation of E-TIR in the OTS region, but we need to take the final step.
We need E-TIR to become fully functional, and in our view, this is achievable. Through joint efforts with the partners present here, we can implement this within the next year," he noted.
He asserts that the ECE must integrate national customs systems with the global E-TIR system.
"There are several implementation scenarios, including issues related to the legal framework, cybersecurity, and technical implementation. We have the tools and knowledge, and with your active participation, we can achieve this in the coming months. We also encourage OTS to use the action plan as a platform for coordination at the working level.
The ECE Secretariat has developed all the necessary IT applications to manage the Convention and is ready to transfer them to the participating countries. I am pleased to announce that several countries have already completed the integration. Now, we need all countries along the corridor to connect to the system," Mariasin added.
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