TRANSPORT MINISTERS OF SCO MEMBER STATES GATHER IN BEIJING
12.11.2009
On 10 November 2009 Beijing hosted the fourth Meeting of the Ministers of Transport of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Ministers of transport or their representatives from Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were in attendance.
Ministers of transport and representatives of transport ministries from the SCO observer states – India, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, as well as a specially invited representative of Afghanistan participated in the Meeting.
Officials from the SCO Secretariat, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Asian Development Bank, the SCO Business Council and Interbank Consortium also attended the Meeting.
The Meeting was chaired by the Chinese Minister of Transport Li Shenglin.
On 10 November the Vice Premier of the State Council of the PRC Zhang Dejian received the heads of delegations.
In a friendly, businesslike and constructive spirit the Ministers discussed the issues of deepening transport cooperation in the SCO framework.
The parties noted significant progress in transport cooperation of the member states which had played a positive role in developing economic cooperation in the SCO region.
The Ministers positively rated the process of carrying out SCO pilot projects in the field of transport – the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan motorway and E-40 route, as well as other important projects of regional transport cooperation, including the construction of Tajikistan-Uzbekistan motorway.
The Ministers particularly noted that experts from the SCO member states with the technical and financial support of UNESCAP and ADB after 8 rounds of negotiations which took 4 years completed in June 2008 the preparation of a draft framework Agreement among the governments of the SCO member states on international road transportation facilitation. The experts were instructed to continue their work on preparing the relevant Appendices to the draft Agreement.
The parties noted the expediency of formulating a Programme (Main guidelines) for coordinated development of motorways in the SCO member states with the aim of strengthening cooperation in the field of automobile transport.
An agreement was reached to make an assessment of the main barriers in international road transportation and draw up an action plan on eliminating the existing barriers.
The Ministers decided to increase cooperation in the SCO framework in the field of railway and aviation transport and to determine possible areas of mutually beneficial cooperation.
Taking into account the model of cooperation between the SCO, UNESCAP and ADB, the Ministers welcome the intention of the relevant international financial institutions, international organisations, SCO Business Council and Interbank Consortium to participate in joint projects in the field of transport under the SCO auspices.
The parties decided to actively promote transport cooperation with the SCO observer states and encourage them to get involved in the process of developing SCO transport cooperation, e.g. concerning the formulation of programmes of development and construction of transport infrastructure, as well as to consider their opinions with the aim of assisting joint development of the transport sector in the SCO member and observer states.