Digital Transport Documents and Smooth Border Crossing in BSEC Region

Meeting of the BSEC Working Group on Transport took place in Baku, Azerbaijan on 24 October 2018. BSEC-URTA Secretary General Mr. Adrian Albu participated the meeting. In his speech he referred to BSEC Permit System with the view to develop ePermit project. He mentioned visa agreement on facilitation of visa procedures for professional drivers in order to develop eVisa format. Also, Mr. Albu referred to other digital transport documents projects as eTIR, eCMR, in order to implement them as pilot projects in BSEC Member States. The BSEC-URTA Secretary General focused on facilitation of border crossing procedures and made a presentation of the BSEC-URTA Resolution on Implementation of Facilitation Measures Designed to Optimise Border Crossing at Main Land Borders of BSEC Region Along the Road Transport Corridors Connecting Europe to Middle East and Central Asia adopted on the 34^th meeting of the BSEC-URTA General Assembly (5 October, Yerevan).

See below the excerpts from the Report of the Meeting of the BSEC WG on Transport

"AGENDA ITEM 2. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESOLUTIONS, DECISIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND MEETINGS OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT WITH REGARD TO:
d/ State of affairs with regard to implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding 
on the Facilitation of Road Transport of Goods in the BSEC Region

27. The Working Group took note of the BSEC PERMIS information regarding state of affairs with regard to implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Facilitation of Road Transport of Goods in the BSEC Region.

28. The Working Group was informed about arrangements for the forthcoming Thirteenth Meeting of the Steering Committee on Facilitation of Road Transport of Goods to be held at the BSEC Headquarters on 27 November 2018 back-to-back with the Meeting of the Member States participating in the project Permit System.

29. The BSEC-URTA informed the Working Group about the resolutions of the 33rd and 
34th Meetings of the BSEC-URTA General Assembly conveying the deep concern of the business transport community with the enormous delays of commercial vehicles, exceeding 12 hours, 
at the borders of the BSEC Member States along the main transport corridors connecting Europe 
to the Middle East and the Central Asia.

30. Stressing that insufficient infrastructure, inefficient procedures and lack of coordination between border authorities at the adjacent borders is the result of increased cost of the goods transported, the BSEC-URTA appealed to the BSEC Member States for proper execution of the UNECE and WCO conventions, as well as the MoU on the Facilitation of Road Transport of Goods in the BSEC Region, which are efficient legal tools for facilitating trade and transportation in the BSEC Region.

31. The Working Group invited the BSEC Member States to give proper consideration of the resolutions of the BSEC-URTA General Assembly at the mentioned Thirteenth Meeting of the Steering Committee on Facilitation of Road Transport of Goods.

32. The BSEC-URTA proposed to convene the next meeting of the Working Group on Transport back-to-back with the Working Group on Customs in order to give the comprehensive consideration of problems of road transport at border crossing points.

33. Furthermore, the Working Group invited the BSEC Member States to timely update, whenever necessary, information regarding their representatives in the Steering Committee on Facilitation of Road Transport of Goods in order to secure its due operation."

Click here to see the Report.