BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 12
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
The possibility of implementing TRACECA studies with the Federation of Carrier and Forwarder Associations and the projects to harmonize the legal framework of Azerbaijan and simplify the border crossing procedures is one of the topical issues of TRACECA, Rufat Bayramov, Permanent Representative (National Secretary) of the TRACECA Permanent Secretariat Intergovernmental Commission in Azerbaijan, told Trend.
“Today one of the important issues is the harmonization of border crossing procedures,” Bayramov added.
"Some of TRACECA participants are members of the EurAsEC system (practically all Central Asian countries), some, including Azerbaijan, are being integrated into the European customs system (new computerized transit system - NCTS)," the permanent representative added.
“EurAsEC and NCTS have common goals and objectives, but the ways of achieving the set goals are different,” Bayramov said.
"Of course, the main task of TRACECA here is to maximally adjust the recommendations of the countries to unify the issues of passing customs control," a permanent representative added.
“After the acceleration of these indicators, an expansion of the corridor can be expected,” Bayramov said.
"In this context, digitalization again comes to the fore,” a permanent representative added. “Unfortunately, until today there is a lot of paperwork, which leads to big delays in seaports and border control points. The work that can be completed within 3-4 hours sometimes takes 15-16 hours.”
Within this project, TRACECA is working to remove these barriers and switch to electronic document management.
The Federation of Carrier and Forwarder Associations is an international non-governmental non-profit organization founded in 2009 and uniting associations of carriers, forwarders, and logistics associations of CAREC countries, as well as other countries to promote the development of transportation, trade, and logistics, support interests national associations. Members of the Federation are 24 associations from nine countries.
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