November 18, 2010
An International conference "The Central Asian Transport Corridor: Prospects For Attracting International Freight Flows" was held on 18 November in Tashkent at the initiative of Doctor of Political Science, professor Gulnara Karimova. Organized by the Centre for Policy Studies and attended by experts from the countries of Central Asia (CA), CIS, Europe, North America, the Middle East, South Asia and the Pacific, and representatives of international companies and organizations specializing in transport communications and regional cargo transportation, the conference discussed the issues as development of new ideas in the field of logistics and management; strategies of companies to attract freight traffic, work with shipment entities, assessment of economic prospects of major economies and international transport, investment in the transport sector in Central Asia.
Particular attention was paid to the ongoing efforts of Uzbekistan on regional transport infrastructure development, especially in the context of the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov on the creation of Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman-Qatar transport corridor.
It was noted that through this corridor the Central Asian countries will have an access to one of the most attractive markets of the Persian Gulf with total annual imports of over 335 billion U.S. dollars. Participants stressed the importance of Uzbekistan’s efforts on developing the transport corridors through Afghanistan. First of all, the railroad Hairaton - Mazar-e Sharif will become a significant contribution of Uzbekistan in the economic revival of its Afghan neighbor.
Free industrial zone in the city of Navoi (FIEZ) - operation and expansion of the potential was also among the topics under discussion. The FIEZ is designed to become a regional strategic logistics hub to ensure efficient freight traffic in the directions North-South and East-West.
Considering that the transportation is closely linked to economic development, serious discussions revolved around the future of the global economy. It was noted that the rapid development of Asia is becoming a major catalyst for the stabilization of the global economy, which, of course, has a beneficial impact on the world freight exchange and on transit transport across the Central Asian countries. During the conference, representatives of leading logistics companies and hubs in Europe and Asia shared their experiences. They highlighted the key provisions of their efficient improvement policies in the face of increasing competition for freight traffic, including through innovations.
Related links
A Large Scale Forum in Tashkent