Digital transport rolls out across key trade corridors

This week’s regional trade and transport seminar in Baku, Azerbaijan accelerates the creation of fully digital TIR corridors across Eurasia, with the outcomes of recent pilot operations and TIR’s intermodal capacity in the spotlight. 

As digital momentum builds, Baku’s strategic location at the intersection of east-west and north-south transport corridors, provides the ideal platform to expand digital TIR from Iran to Turkey, as well as between Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan.

From Baku, IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto, said, 
“This region is getting ahead in the digital transformation of transport. The stakes are high as new and potential TIR countries, including China, India and Pakistan, look towards using the digital tools as they activate the TIR system in their countries.”

Seminar participants, including senior customs officials and TIR associations, analysed the results and expansion of pilot projects between Turkey and Iran; Georgia and Turkey; Turkey and Ukraine; and along the Batumi corridor (linking Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan). Going a step further, there was also work to draft a regional cooperation agreement on TIR digitalisation. 

Ahead of the landmark seminar, IRU’s Commission on Customs Affairs met in Baku to set its 2019 agenda to promote TIR digitalisation and geographical expansion. 

The Commission, responsible for TIR development, also looked at actions to promote the use of TIR more widely in intermodal transport; and to expand TIR digitalisation using a corridor-based approach, linking the markets and economies of existing TIR countries to recently acceded nations.

Hosted by the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, the digitalisation seminar was co-organised by IRU, the Union of Road Transport Associations in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Region, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.