On 23 May 2017, SCO member state representatives assembled at SCO headquarters in Beijing and started a discussion of the practical implementation of the intergovernmental Agreement on Facilitation of International Road Transport (Dushanbe, 12 September 2014), which came into force on 20 January 2017. Earlier today, the Kazakhstan-chaired Joint Commission on Facilitation of International Road Transport, a mechanism for coordinating the Agreement's implementation, held an organising meeting.
The meeting was attended by SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov and UNESCAP Secretariat representative Fedor Kormilitsyn.
In welcoming the commission members, Mr Alimov said, "the agreement's importance is difficult to overestimate, it goes far beyond SCO member state transport cooperation. It is having much influence on prospects for developing and expanding the entire system of trade and economic cooperation in the SCO."
"The SCO member states' consistent, purpose-oriented and concerted efforts to create a modern and diverse system of transport corridors had received a second wind under this agreement. The joint effort to upgrade and build new roads and roadside infrastructure on international routes will also be accelerated," he said.
Mr Kormilitsyn welcomed the coming into force of the agreement, which is the result of years of efforts by the SCO member states and the SCO Secretariat with support from the UNESCAP Secretariat, and wished the parties success with the practical implementation.
During the meeting, the commission members discussed over a dozen important issues related to the upcoming operation of roads, mechanisms for distributing and manufacturing transport authorisation quotas, adjustments to the routes, checkpoints, and potential joint investment projects in the area of transport.
The commission will continue its work on 24 May 2017 and a final document will be signed based on the results.
The SCO Member States Agreement on Facilitation of International Road Transport was signed at the Dushanbe meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council on 12 September 2014 and came into force on 20 January 2017. The Joint Commission on Facilitation of International Road Transport, which includes representatives of the relevant authorities of the SCO member states, is a mechanism for coordinating activities for the agreed upon and consistent implementation of the agreement.