Kazakhstan has assumed the chairmanship of the Intergovernmental Commission of the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA), following a decision adopted during the organization’s 18th annual meeting in Astana on May 15.
The TRACECA program was launched in 1993 with support from the European Union and the participation of post-Soviet states in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
Today, TRACECA includes 14 member states: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Romania, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport, Astana intends to focus its chairmanship on further developing the Europe-Caucasus-Asia transport corridor and strengthening the region’s transit potential.
One of the organization’s immediate priorities is to finalize its 10-year development strategy for 2027-2036, which officials aim to complete before the group’s next forum, scheduled to take place in Bishkek in 2027.
According to officials, the document intends to incorporate trends towards digitalization, evolving international supply chains, and emerging transport and logistics technologies, as well as accommodate the ever-increasing growth in transit traffic.
An important step toward that goal came with the initial signing in Astana on May 15 of the Agreement on a Single Transit Permit for TRACECA member states.
The agreement allows road freight carriers to conduct transit transportation through participating countries without obtaining separate national permits, significantly simplifying international cargo transport and improving the efficiency of transport routes. The plan is for single transit permits to be issued electronically through a unified digital information system.
For now, the document has only been signed by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine.
While this is expected to simplify border crossings in Central Asia and across the Caspian, it has not solved the problems further down the line towards Europe.
Other TRACECA member states are continuing domestic procedures required for future accession to the agreement.
Kazakhstan’s TRACECA chairmanship is seen by authorities in Astana as providing additional momentum for the development of international transport corridors and strengthening transport connectivity between Europe and Asia.
