📩 02/11/2023 10:46
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu stated that the strategic importance of the Central Corridor has become even more important today due to the advantages it provides in terms of international trade, geographical location and security, and said, "We want to increase the share of the railway in our transportation to the countries in the region."
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu started his two-day official contacts in Uzbekistan. Uraloğlu met with Uzbekistan Minister of Transport Ilkhom Makhkamov. During the meetings between the delegations, cooperation between the two countries in road and railway transportation, postal, e-commerce, satellite technologies and telecommunications, and R&D in the field of transportation, as well as existing and potential opportunities between the two countries, were discussed.
During the meeting, Minister Uraloğlu said to his counterpart, "We are taking very satisfactory steps with you in the field of transportation," and added, "I believe that we should develop our economic and commercial relations in line with our relations at the strategic partnership level and remove the obstacles to our trade one by one."
Uraloğlu noted that the "Road Transport Agreement" signed on October 25, 2017, on the liberalization of transit and bilateral transport in road transport, laid the groundwork for cooperation between the two countries in the field of road freight transport, and said:
“In addition to our cargo transportation on this ground, our bilateral trade has reached very successful levels. However, I think we have a trade potential that can be further developed. For this reason, I think it would be beneficial for us to adopt practices that will reduce the cost of transportation and increase its profitability.
In this respect, I believe that the exchange of transit documents should be abolished in transit and bilateral transportation in order to develop trade. As you know, the effective use of corridors and technical cooperation in railway transportation, the 'East-West Trans-Caspian Middle Corridor' is of great importance to us. The strategic importance of the Central Corridor is being emphasized even more today due to the advantages it provides in terms of international trade, geographical location and security. We also want to increase the share of railways in our transportation to the countries in the region. I believe that we will achieve this with both the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line and the route creation works carried out within the framework of the Economic Cooperation Organization. By increasing the efficiency of our countries' railway transportation routes, we can increase both our bilateral trade and our countries' share of the transportation volume between China and Europe. As Türkiye, we attach importance to the transportation potential of Uzbekistan.”
Minister Uraloğlu also reminded that Turkey has competent institutions in the production and maintenance of railway vehicles and said, "We are ready to cooperate technically in the supply, maintenance and modernization of railway vehicles."
Tomorrow, Minister Uraloğlu will attend the 10th Transport Ministers Meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), which includes 12 member countries consisting of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
At the meeting, current and potential cooperation opportunities with member countries of the Economic Cooperation Organization in the fields of road transport, railway transport, maritime and civil aviation will be discussed.