Turkmenistan, Ashgabad, April25 /Trend, H. Hasanov/
The initiative of two Central Asian countries - Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - over the commencing of an optimally short way to ports in the Persian Gulf and Oman Gulf was legally formalized on Monday.
On April 25, the Turkmen capital hosted the signing ceremony of the interstate Ashgabad Agreement on formation of a new international transport & transit corridor: Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman-Qatar.
The document was signed by the foreign ministers of these countries.
The observers said Russia and China may also get access to new solvent markets, which can contribute to the economic attractiveness of the new multiregional project.
Participant countries, which are eager to cooperate, believe that the initiative has appeared in time and will contribute to a further progress and prosperity of each regional country due to the increase of the volume of integrated trade and cut of costs related to the transit of goods.
Concrete plans of development of this agreement will be worked out by experts and working groups of the five states. In particular, they will have to explore the opportunities of cooperation in the field of international transit transportation in the area of the Persian Gulf and Oman Gulf, and in the fields of customs activity, automobile, railway and maritime transportation, and joint investments.
On the whole, the question is about a mutually beneficial use of the opening opportunities within a shortest possible transit route; this is particularly important for Uzbekistan, which has no direct output to sea.
Turkmenistan and Iran (with Kazakhstan in participation) have already been implementing the trilateral project of establishment of the new railway corridor North-South. Cargoes will be transported freely on the transportation and trading way to be established toward the Gulf countries, the Indian Ocean, Europe and other regions of the world.
According to preliminary calculations, the corridor's annual throughput capacity will be 10 million-12 million tons of cargoes. This corridor will be 600 kilometers shorter than the existing route through Beyneu-Turkmenabat-Serahs and cut the period of transportation of cargoes by two days and clientele's costs related to transportation of every ton of cargoes.
The railway is being laid, the surrounding territory is being equipped, and servicing is being provided jointly by the railway authorities of the three states under the financial support of the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Bank for Development.