"We are currently working on a strategy to increase containerized cargo transportation between the TRACECA countries (transport corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia) until 2030," Rufat Bayramov, National Secretary of the TRACECA Intergovernmental Commission, stated. He said that cargo shipping through the TRACECA corridor via Azerbaijan would increase in the near future.
"We will analyze the trade between the European and Asian countries from 2020 to 2030, make a forecast and calculate the traffic through our corridor. Last year, 40,000 containers passed through our port (Baku Port). It was a historical record. According to forecasts, by 2030, we will attract nearly 500,000-700,000 containers to the corridor. It is necessary to solve infrastructural issues," Bayramov said.
According to him, the process of cargo transportation in the TRACECA corridor will be digitized.
"In addition to the sea route, there are also land routes with which we compete. An example is the Trans-Siberian route through Russia. We must embed digital applications and bring digital technologies into our corridor to develop it as an alternative route. We are working on it now. A legal document, adequate to the norms of all countries included in TRACECA, is currently under development," Rufat Bayramov noted. According to him, the TRACECA corridor covers the countries of Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Europe. Each of these countries has its legal framework. The goal is to develop a legal document that fits all systems. For this, there must be an electronic system. The sender, the recipient, and the carrier of the cargo will enter data into the system, through which it will be possible to view port operations and carry out cargo transportation without wasting time. This will save time, which requires preparation of documents, verification.
The National Secretary of the TRACECA Intergovernmental Commission acknowledged that due to the pandemic, there are delays in freight traffic as cars are checked at the border, drivers are checked to make sure they are healthy, disinfection works are carried out and then taken to the border under police supervision. The best solution at times like this is to ship the cargo through a contactless system.
