On February 2, 2022, the 11th meeting of the Council of Ministers of transport of the member states of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) was held online. Heads of transport departments of the member states of the Organization gathered to participate in it.
The delegation of Turkmenistan was headed by M. Chakiyev, General Director of the Transport and Communications Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan.
The meeting was opened by the General Secretary of the Economic Cooperation Organization, Hysrav Noziri, who spoke in detail about the tasks facing the organization.In his speech, at the 15th Summit of the High-Level Economic Cooperation Organization, which was held in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, on November 28, 2021, the heads of state and government of the participating states expressed their views on the work of the ECO and he emphasized the need to focus on geopolitics, and said that it was even more important now with the crisis.
Later in the day, Adil Karaismıloglu, Chairman of the 11th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Transport of the ECO Member States - Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey, addressed the meeting. In his speech, he warmly welcomed the participants and informed them about the current state of affairs in the Economic Cooperation Organization.
These include the activation of investment activity in the Member States, the creation of free trade and economic zones, the creation of new economic transit corridors, the activation of existing transit and multimodal routes.
As is known, on November 26, 2021, the Economic Cooperation Organization in Europe and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) of Turkmenistan and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) won the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway crossing at the International economic forum held within the framework of the Meeting of Heads of State of the Economic Cooperation Organization between the Railway Authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
One of the priorities of the ECO programs is the transport sector.The Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran (KTI) railway, which was commissioned in 2014, is important for this railway corridor in international freight traffic, the work on the activation of transport infrastructure and international multimodal crossings, as well as the international recognition of Turkmenistan on March 4, 2021, it is noteworthy that on the day of the chairmanship of the organization, a broad gauge was connected at the Incheburun-Akyayla station of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran International transport corridor (KTI).
The meeting was also attended by the Ministers of Transport of the Member States of the Economic Cooperation Organization and international organizations UNECE, the Organization for Cooperation between Railways, OTIF - the heads of the International Organization of Railways, the International Automobile Association IRU and the Development Bank Economic Cooperation Organization also spoke.
The participants considered the report of the Minister of Transport of the Economic Cooperation Organization and proposals for the regional draft of the Ankara Declaration of the 11th Meeting of ECO Transport Ministers.
The meeting also adopted the report of the 11th meeting of the Council of Ministers of Transport of the member countries of the Economic Cooperation Organization.At the end of the meeting, the Ankara Declaration was unanimously adopted.
The 12th meeting of the Council of Transport Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization member states will be held in Tashkent in 2023 in the capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan.