Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu and Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Aleksiev attended bilateral and inter-delegation meetings at the Kapıkule Border Gate. A consensus was reached between Turkey and Bulgaria on accelerating and increasing the transport capacity, especially on the railway.
After the talks, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu and Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Aleksiev held a press conference. Minister Karaismaioğlu said that they held an important and productive meeting, the subject of which was border crossings. Pointing out that exports increased very rapidly after the Kovid-19 epidemic, Karaismailoğlu stated that in this sense, a great burden was placed on the customs gates.
Underlining that the Bulgarian side has made very important contributions to lightening the load, accelerating the transitions, and eliminating the problems experienced at the Kapıkule Border Gate, which stretches from the Far East to Europe, Karaismailoğlu said, “The long queues at the gates in the past days have decreased a lot as a result of their devoted efforts, but of course. Due to the increase in exports, there will be more burden in the coming days. We are also having important talks to increase the capacity on the highway at the gates and to speed up the transitions.” said.
Karaismailoğlu underlined that railways are also very important in transportation due to the fact that the capacity of road transport is certain.
WE WILL INCREASE TRANSITIONS ON RAILWAYS MUCH MUCH MORE
Emphasizing the necessity of increasing the capacity of railway transportation, Karaismailoğlu continued as follows: “(International transportation) The shifting of freight to railways is one of our biggest agendas. We are having important negotiations for the rapid increase of the capacity of both Turkish and Bulgarian railways. Hopefully, in the coming days, we will increase the transitions on the railways much, much more. In addition, we need to support the sea route and roro transports. That's why we, as the Ministry, carry out important policies to develop Turkish roro flights with Burgas, Varna and Romania connections. We had issued the necessary regulations to encourage roro. Hopefully, both our trade will increase and our problems at the gates will decrease. Bulgaria is Turkey's gateway to Europe. Our long-standing friendly relations are also reflected in our trade, and we need to be in constant consultation to further develop trade. However, as Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary, we have important studies on how we can develop railway transportation. We will hold our quartet meetings again in the coming days. Today's meeting was very productive in terms of finding solutions to Turkey's increasing trade volume and improving relations with friendly brotherly countries.”
WE DECIDED TO USE RAIL AND SEA ROADS SERIOUSLY
Aleksiev said that today they talked about the work to be done and the measures to be taken to make the transitions faster at the customs. Expressing that the logistics were provided to Europe via Bulgaria due to the Russia-Ukraine war, Aleksiev stated that for this reason, vehicle density occurs from time to time.
Explaining that highways alone will not be enough for such a heavy traffic flow, Aleksiev emphasized that railways and seaways should also be included in this traffic. Noting that more than 100 thousand trucks passed customs from last October to October this year, Aleksiev said, “Naturally, such a large influx of vehicles was processed by the employees of both countries. We all know that this trend from Asia to Europe will increase even more. That's why we decided to use the rail and sea routes seriously. Transporters in Bulgaria approve their trucks to pass through state railways. In this way, the cargoes should be shifted to the railway by Turkey.” said.
Alexiev; He said that the existing railways are full, and that another railway customs should be opened as an alternative. Expressing that they have also taken some decisions to accelerate the transitions through customs, Aleksiev thanked Minister Karaismailoğlu.
During the meeting between the delegations, increasing the capacity and speed in transportation modes between the two countries was discussed. The importance of the transportation capacity between the two countries, especially the railway, was emphasized. TCDD General Manager Hasan Pezük gave information about the work done.
Turkey's Ambassador to Sofia Aylin Eightkök, Edirne Governor H. Kürşat Kırbıyık, Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Enver İskurt, Deputy Minister of Trade Rıza Tuna Turagay, TCDD General Manager Hasan Pezük, TCDD Taşımacılık AŞ General Manager Ufuk Yalçın, Bulgaria's Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure. Ankara Ambassador Anguel Tcholakov, Bulgaria's Consul General in Edirne Borislav Dimitrov, Deputy Ministers of Transport and Communications Diliana Doichinova and Krasimir Papukchiyki, Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Finance Aleksander Svrakov and other interested parties.
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