Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 28
Trend:
On November 28, 2018, the International Conference of Ministers of Transport of the States Parties to the Agreement on Transit and Transport Cooperation (Lapis Lazuli) began its work in the Avaza National Tourist Zone in the city of Turkmenbashi, said a message from Turkmen embassy in Baku.
At the beginning of the conference, a congratulatory message from the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, addressed to the participants of the International Conference of Ministers of Transport of the States Parties to the Agreement on Transit and Transport Cooperation (Lapis Lazuli) was read out.
Then the heads of the delegations participating in the International Conference of Ministers of Transport (Lapis Lazuli) made their presentations: Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan M.Chakiyev, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Yagub Eyyubov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Achilbai Ramatov, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey Jahit Turhan, Minister of Transport of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Tahmasi Mohd Hamid and Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Akaki Sagirashvili.
Also in the first part of the international conference, delegations discussed issues such as the role of interstate cooperation in the development of the international transport corridor Lápis-Lazuli and the importance of logistics companies in the development of transport corridors.
The budget of the project, which is aimed at facilitating transit logistics and simplifying customs procedures, is estimated at $2 billion. This large-scale project is aimed at increasing the economic integration of countries in the region and increasing trade.
According to the Lapis Lazuli project, railways and highways will connect the city of Torghundi in the Afghan province of Herat with Turkmenistan's Ashgabat, and further with the Caspian port of Turkmenbashi. The corridor will extend to the new port of Baku in Alat, going further through Tbilisi to Ankara with branches leading to Poti and Batumi in Georgia, and go ahead from Ankara to Istanbul.
