BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. The protocol of the 10th meeting of the Heads of Customs Administrations of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) has been signed in Baku, Trend reports.
The meeting was chaired by the Chairman of the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, Shahin Baghirov, and attended by the Secretary-General of the OTS, Kubanychbek Omuraliev; Deputy Chairman of the Committee for State Revenues of the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan, Kairat Dzhumagulov; Chairman of the State Customs Service of the Ministry of Finance of Kyrgyzstan, Samat Isabekov; Deputy Minister of Trade and Head of the Customs Administration of Türkiye, Sezai Ucarmak; and Chairman of the State Customs Committee of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan, Akmalkhuja Mavlonov (hereinafter referred to as "the Parties").
Reaffirming the purposes of the OTS as set out in the Nakhchivan Agreement, recalling the instructions of the Heads of State at the Samarkand, Astana, and Bishkek summits of the OTS, as well as expressing commitment to further expanding mutually beneficial customs cooperation within the framework of the "Turkic World Vision-2040" and the "OTS Strategy for 2022–2026," the Parties agreed on the following:
1. The Parties expressed their readiness on the further implementation of the Agreement on the Establishment of Simplified Customs Corridor among the Governments of the OTS and discussed the actions needed for the implementation of the Pilot Project as stipulated in Article 7 of the mentioned Agreement in order to elaborate the technologies of the exchange of information envisaged thereby.
2. Following the presentation made by the Azerbaijani side on the "Trans-Caspian Customs Transit Portal" and the Georgian side introducing the initiative for "simplifying transit between OTS countries + Georgia," the Parties discussed the need to create a legal framework for the implementation of the "Trans-Caspian Customs Transit Portal". This should contribute to improved transit, economic activity, and border crossings. The Parties committed to submitting proposals for the development of the draft Agreement on the establishment of the portal.
3. The Parties exchanged best practices in the field of facilitating trade and travel by reducing the number of stops made at border points and the time required to pass them. The Uzbek side’s proposed concept of a "Single Window" was considered, and it was decided to submit proposals to the Secretariat, which will combine the received proposals and present a final document.
4. The Parties welcomed the Turkish side’s readiness to conduct a field visit for experience exchange on implementing the Single Window and One Stop systems. The Turkish side will provide proposals for the dates and venue of the visit.
5. The Parties exchanged information on new technologies such as electronic seals and cargo tracking systems with the aim of their widespread use in OTS countries.
6. During the meeting, the Parties signed the following documents:
- An Action Plan ("Roadmap") for the implementation of eTIR in accordance with the TIR Convention on international road freight transport (1975);
- Technical conditions for information exchange between customs administrations of OTS member states under the Agreement on the establishment of the Simplified Customs Corridor, signed on November 11, 2022, in Samarkand.
7. The Parties agreed to organize in 2025:
- Implementation of the Pilot Project stipulated in Article 7 of the Agreement on the Establishment of Simplified Customs Corridor, including the implementation of information exchange technologies;
- A technical working group in February 2025 to discuss the results of the pilot project.
8. The Parties instructed the Working Group to refine the objectives and outline further actions for the Caravanserai Project in the context of the Silk Road initiative.
9. The Parties expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan for hosting the 10th meeting and accepted Kazakhstan's proposal to host the 11th meeting of OTS customs administrations in 2025. The exact date and venue will be determined through diplomatic channels.
10. The Secretariat will coordinate the implementation of the proposals and submit the outcomes to the next meeting.
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