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ORGANIZATION OF THE BLACK SEA ECONOMIC COOPERATION. bsec. 7 th IRU Euro-Asian Road Transport Conference, Ministerial Meeting and Co-ordination Meeting of International Organisations and Financial Institutions “ Road Transport: Driving Regional and Intercontinental Trade ”
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ORGANIZATION OF THE BLACK SEA ECONOMIC COOPERATION bsec 7th IRU Euro-Asian Road Transport Conference, Ministerial Meeting and Co-ordination Meeting of International Organisations and Financial Institutions “Road Transport: Driving Regional and Intercontinental Trade” under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein Amman, 12-13 June 2013 Promoting Modern Infrastructures andEffective Procedures in Transport Ph.D. Prof.Ambassador Victor Tvircun Secretary General Permanent International Secretariat Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization
Wit • The Economic Agenda • • Transport is one of the priority areas of cooperation for BSEC. • • Fruitful cooperation relationship developed over the years between the BSEC Organization and the International Road Transport Union. • IRU is one of the reliable partners of BSEC. Its over 60 years of experience has been very helpful in promoting BSEC cooperation in the field of transport. • • The strategy-document BSEC Economic Agenda: Towards an Enhanced BSEC Partnership, endorsed by the BSEC Summit, held in Istanbul on 26 June 2012 dedicated to the 20th Anniversary of the BSEC is guiding the cooperation in the BSEC framework. • •Establishment of an Efficient Transport Network is one of the 17 goals in priority areas of action of the Organization. • To attain this goal, the Economic Agenda puts on the first place “promoting sustainable transport systems which meet the economic, social and environmental needs of the people of the Black Sea Region, in order to reduce regional disparities and to link the BSEC Region’s transport infrastructure to European and Asian Networks”. BSEC BSEC BSEC BSEC
BSEC BSEC BSEC BSEC • Policy Decisions • • Transport plays a vital role in promoting trade, investments and tourism within the BSEC Region. • • The meetings of the Ministers of Transport of the BSEC Member States in Izmir (28 November 2012) and in Odessa (29 May 2013) confirmed the commitments of the Member States to ensure the progressive implementation of the three major projects and their sub-projects: • ♦ Black Sea Ring Highway; • ♦ Motorways of the Sea in the BSEC Region; • ♦ Facilitation of Road Transport of Goods in the BSEC Region.
Major Projects and Sub-Projects (1) • • The Black Sea Ring Highway project envisages a four lane ring highway system, approximately 7500 km long, to connect the BSEC Member States with each other. • ♦ A Steering Committee and a Joint Permanent Technical Secretariat of the Black Sea Ring Highway were established in order to implement the project. • ♦ The Secretariat is managed by the leading public Hellenic company “Egnatia ODOS S.A.”. • ♦ At present, the Steering Committee is at the stage of finalizing the Ring route. • ♦ Afterwards, it will proceed with elaboration of a Master Plan and project financing schemes. • • The Ministers of Transport of the BSEC Member States decided (Moscow, 21 October 2011) to include the Model Highway Initiative presented by IRU into the future Black Sea Ring Highway’s Master Plan, thus aiming the creation of modern highways with road infrastructure to the highest European standards. BSEC BSEC BSEC BSEC
BSEC BSEC BSEC BSEC • • A pre-feasibility Study “Development of the Baku – Tbilisi – Batumi – Trabzon Model Highway” was finalised in November 2012 by “Egnatia ODOS S.A.”, with financing of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank and IRU. • • On 28 November 2012, in Izmir, at the International Conference on Trade and Transport Facilitation in the Black Sea, Central Asia and Middle East Regions, held back-to-back with a Meeting of Ministers of Transport of the BSEC Member, a Joint Statement of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia and Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications of the Republic of Turkey on the Creation of Model Highway on the Motor Road Baku-Tbilisi-Batumi-Trabzonwas signed. • • This step plays an important role for the further implementation of the Model Highway Initiative in the BSRC Region.
Major Projects and Sub-Projects (2) • • The project Motorways of the Sea in the BSEC region is aiming at strengthening the maritime links among the ports of the BSEC Member States. Activities within this project include: • ♦ the upgrading of port facilities; • ♦ identification of projects of common interest; • ♦ securing free and fair competition in international shipping; • ♦ facilitation of access to all modes of transport; and • ♦ enhancement of maritime security and safety in the BSEC Region. • • Currently, a Joint Technical Secretariat, to be managed by the Turkish Maritime Authorities, is being set up and an active phase in implementation of the project has been initiated. BSEC BSEC BSEC BSEC
BSEC BSEC BSEC BSEC • Major Projects and Sub-Projects (3) • • The project on Facilitation of Road Transport of Goods in the BSEC Region is directed at an efficient road transport and promoting regional trade and economic growth. • ♦ MoU signed in Kyiv in 2002, entered into force on 20 July 2006. • Several sub-projects aimed at: • - gradual liberalization of transport; • - visa facilitation for professional drivers; • - harmonization of charging policies; • - harmonization of weighing procedures; and • - other related issues. • • The BSEC Transit Permit for trucks – a project to be implemented on a permanent basis as of this year by Albania, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Turkey as well as other countries which may wish to join it. • A multilateral document for gradual liberalization of bilateral and transit international transport of goods in the BSEC Region.
BSEC BSEC BSEC BSEC • • There is a positive approach of the Member States to launch new pilot projects, currently under consideration by BSEC subsidiary bodies: • ♦ a Pilot Project on Introduction of the InternationalVehicle Weight Certificate in the BSEC Region; • ♦ a UNECE-BSEC Pilot Project on Readiness Assessment for the Implementation of the Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020) in the BSEC Region. • • Promoting Best Practice at Border Crossings is another area of BSEC action aimed at facilitating legitimate trade and transport across borders of the Member States • ♦a Joint OSCE-BSEC Workshop on “Best practices at border crossings – a trade and transport facilitation perspective” was held at the BSEC Headquarters on 3 April 2013, with the purpose to further raise awareness of the OSCE-UNECE Handbook and utilize it for capacity building, adapted to the needs of the BSEC Region, in tackling issues such as: • - customs risk management; • - public private partnerships in border management; • - co-ordinated border management.
Need for synergyes • The presentation highlighted only some of the most eloquent examples of the action taken in the BSEC framework for promoting the regional cooperation in the field of transport. • BSEC Organization endeavours to promote modern infrastructures and effective procedures in transport. • BSEC relies on the cooperation with other international organisations, in particular, International Road Transport Union, as well as business associations. • BSEC efforts at the level of the BSEC Region are complementary to the efforts that undertaken in the development of Euro-Asian transport links by other international organizations and institutions. • There is need of synergies between the activities undertaken in different international organizations in order to maximise benefits of available resources for the respective Member States. • Wishes for fruitful discussions to the participants. BSEC BSEC BSEC BSEC