The Government of Turkmenistan in close cooperation with the United Nations, its regional commissions and relevant specialized agencies organized a high-level videoconference meeting on strengthening transport communications in the SPECA region and beyond during COVID-19 outbreak.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Fekitamoeloa 'Utoikamanu, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Oga Algayerova, the heads and representatives of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the UN Office for the Coordination of Development Activities, as well as the Minister of Public Works of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Deputy Ministers of Transport of the Azerbaijan Republic, Georgia, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan took part in the forum.
A number of priority issues on widening multilateral partnerships in the field of transport during the coronavirus pandemic were considered during the online meeting, which was also attended by specialized specialists and experts from international organizations.
The significance of this issue is caused by the necessity to adapt the economic systems of the Central Asian states and neighboring regions to the difficult situation that has arisen in the world economy today because of the spread of the dangerous infection of a new type.
In this regard, the importance of consolidating efforts in improving the efficiency of international transit and transport corridors, optimizing the activities of state structures and companies involved in the formation and development of transport and communication systems was emphasized.
Taking into account the specifics of the present moment, the emphasis was placed on the need to develop new international legal mechanisms to ensure the operation of the transport infrastructure in emergency conditions.
Due to the efforts of the President of Turkmenistan, domestic transport diplomacy is implemented in frames of large-scale regional and interregional infrastructure projects.
The active, long-term-oriented transport strategy and initiatives of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov are widely supported by the UN and demonstrate good results.
Today, the transport sector is undoubtedly one of the defining vectors of world development.The formation of a multimodal, integrated, high-tech transport and logistics infrastructure is an objective necessity of modern times.
The successful solution of the tasks set in this area meets the interests of the international community and will contribute to the growth of economic and social indicators on a national, regional and global scale.
The participants of the video forum exchanged views and made specific proposals for the development of cooperation in order to resolve the issues on the agenda of the meeting.
The final document was adopted based on the results of the Regional Dialogue, during which the participating countries and specialized UN structures confirmed their commitment to further develop fruitful cooperation.