BSEC-URTA called BSEC Governments to support recovery of economics

The Video-Meeting of the Steering Committee on Facilitation of Road Transport of Goods in the BSEC Region was held on 10 June 2020.

Representatives of BSEC Ministries of Transport, BSEC PERMIS, IRU and BSEC-URTA attended the meeting and showed in detail the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on national, regional and global levels.

BSEC-URTA Secretary General, Mr. Adrian Albu, delivered to the participants a speech on behalf of BSEC-URTA President Mrs. Asli Calik. The latter emphasized that after the Covid-19 pandemic all existing norms, strategies and models of the road-transport industry have to be reviewed and the entire process of the supply chain at a global level will have to be re-edited. In her statement Mrs. Calik also stressed that now is the right time to work with the BSEC Member States for establishing PPP models that will drive the necessary recovery in regional economies; in doing so, road-transport operators, drivers, workers and transport users have to be kept safe and supply chains / mobility networks operational.

Mr. Adrian Albu made a presentation, in which he stressed on the loss of the road transport sector during crises caused by pandemic and called the BSEC governments to apply without delay recovery measures. BSEC-URTA Secretary General put forward concrete proposals for the next 6 months in order to facilitate the implementation of the objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding on Facilitation of Road Transport of Goods in the BSEC Region (MOU).

Some of the most important conclusions drawn from the video-meeting can be

summarized as follows:

• International transport will play a significant role in the recovery of trade and of the economies of BSEC Member States.

• International and regional cooperation for diminishing the negative impacts of COVID-19 are essential. Facilitations in road transport such as facilitation in granting Visas for professional drivers, increase of road transit permits quotas, reduction of road-user charges etc. will help the recovery of the private sector.

• Digitalization in transportation has become even more important because of COVID-19 and projects such as e-Visas, e-Permit, e-CMR and e-TIR are expected to be accelerated in the near future.

Click here for Informal report of the Video-meeting of the Steering Committee on Facilitation of Road Transport of Goods in the BSEC Region.