International scientific and practical events to discuss the issues of East-West transport corridors on the "Public-Private-Academic" platform were held
27.05.2023 /The 14th International Capacity-Building Seminar on Trade and Transport Facilitation and the 2nd International Conference on Problems of Logistics, Management and Operation in the East-West Transport Corridor (PLMO 2023) were held on May 22-25, 2023 with organizational support of the Institute of Control Systems (ICS) of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan and UNECE. The conferences, which lasted four days, focused on issues such as the digitalization of transport corridors, addressing scientific-technical and organizational problems, investment in the supply chain, and the implementation of UN standards in freight transport. The events brought together a wide audience representing “Public-Private-Academic” cooperation of countries of Eastern Europe, South Caucasus, Central Asia, Türkiye and China, which are partners of the East-West transport corridor, under the TRACECA and SPECA projects, and the Middle corridor.
Speakers at the 14th International Capacity-Building Seminar on Trade and Transport Facilitation, organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Institute of Control Systems of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan on May 22-23, included General Director of the Institute of Control Systems Academician Ali Abbasov, Head of Transport Policy Department of the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport Fariz Aliyev, UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Vladanka Andreeva, Director of Economic Cooperation and Trade Division at UNECE Elizabeth Tuerk, UNECE Regional Advisior Mario Apostolov, academics, specialists and experts of the public-private-academic platform from various countries.
The seminar discussed such issues as trade regulations and expert training of the Middle corridor, TRACECA and SPECA countries, improving the quality of the supply chain within the Eurasian Economic Cooperation, digitalization of transport, scientific and technical issues, and implementation of the UN Center for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) standards in document exchange. Discussions focused on the "One Belt, One Road" concept, facilitation of transit customs procedures based on digital solutions towards the East-West Corridor and Middle Corridor, digitalization of multimodal data and development of the document exchange roadmap by implementing a regional pilot project for TRACECA and SPECA member states. The participants of the seminar exchanged views on the existing challenges in facilitating cargo transportation and implementation of digital technologies, voiced their proposals on the implementation of eFTI rules, analysis of gaps in the application of UN/CEFACT standards in the corridor countries, implementation of joint cooperation with EU4Digital and development of new projects on information exchange between the Caspian ports.
The seminar also discussed the upcoming goals related to the organization of the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) conference, chaired by Azerbaijan, which is scheduled for November 2023 in Baku.
As a continuation of the event, the 2nd International Conference on Problems of Logistics, Management and Operation in the East-West Transport Corridor (PLMO 2023), organized by the Institute of Control Systems, Silesian Technological University of Poland, Tashkent State Transport University and Georgian Technical University, was held on May 24-25. Leading scientists from Poland, China, Italy, Georgia, Germany, Romania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and other countries participated in the international conference in hybrid format.
Speaking at the conference, Academician Ali Abbasov, General Director of the Institute of Control Systems, spoke about the need to find solutions to scientific and technical problems arising in the digitalization of transport corridors, through scientific and technological approach in accordance with the modern standards, about the political and economic relations between countries that have access to the corridors, and the application of the adopted standards. Stressing the importance of the Middle Corridor, known as the Trans-Caspian international transport route, in addressing security, regulatory and geopolitical issues between countries, A. Abbasov noted that in recent years Azerbaijan has been playing an active role in the implementation of transnational projects of international scale. He also emphasized that as a result of purposeful policy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev, the corridor is important not only in terms of enhancing transit opportunities, but also for the development of business in various fields. Speaking about the work being done in the field of forming new digital routes on a global scale, A. Abbasov said that with the launch of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative– New Silk Road, the East-West transport corridor is developing in terms of organization, economy and geography, and at the same time the new corridor creates digital communication links; he talked about the effective scientific and technical cooperation ties established between relevant institutions of the corridor countries.
Vice President of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), Academician Rasim Aliguliyev in his speech at the conference stressed the importance of these conferences in terms of conducting new scientific research towards solving international problems of logistics, management and operation, regional digitalization, discussion of existing shortcomings by the scientific community. The academician noted that the adaptation of transport infrastructure to green technologies had given a great impetus to the formation of a green society in the country, stressing that Azerbaijan occupies a special place among international transport hubs in both water and land transportation between Europe and Asia. Speaking about the reconstruction projects implemented in Karabakh, the scientist pointed out that the Zangezur transport corridor is of great importance from the point of view of integrating Azerbaijan with Europe.
Nijat Mammadli, Advisor to the Minister of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in his speech noted that the ministry he represents supports projects that can contribute to the development of science and education in the country. He noted Azerbaijan's important role in the East-West transport corridor, especially in the Middle Corridor, and also highlighted the work being done to address various economic and geographical issues related to obtaining new favorable opportunities. Stressing the role of science and education in solving these problems, he spoke about the practical measures taken in the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan to train highly qualified personnel in the field of transport and logistics. He noted that the Master's programs at universities newly established at the initiative of the Ministry drew the attention of the scientific community to addressing the existing gaps in this field.
Speaking at the conference, Anar Rzayev, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Land Transport Agency of the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, noted that the problems of building digital development and implementation of innovations are a priority for our country, just like in most advanced countries. Speaking about the concept of a digital transport corridor, he said that the essence of it is electronization of transportation documents, digitalization of processes carried out by government agencies at all stages of the transport process, cargo tracking and other issues, which will reduce transport costs, as well as effectively use the existing infrastructure.
In his speech, Academician Gu Xingfa, Chairman of the China Remote Sensing Committee, Director of the National Engineering Research Center for Remote Sensing Satellite Application of the Institute of Aerospace Information of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, expressed his gratitude for the high-level organization of the conference and an invitation to international cooperation. Noting the need to exchange knowledge with the world's leading powers for economic, geopolitical development of society and civilization exchange, G. Xingfa voiced proposals for joint research with the Institute of Control Systems in the field of digital transport, aerospace research, information technology development.
Professor Aleksander Sładkowski, Editor-in-Chief of the international scientific journal "Transport Problems", representing the Silesian University of Technology of Poland, spoke at the conference about the difficulties arising from political, cultural and scientific ties in the use of various existing transcontinental transport corridors. The scientist spoke about the cooperation between the countries of the Black and Caspian seas in order to develop production and trade relations, as well as the world economy, the implementation of more convenient, faster and more profitable international cargo transportation.
In conclusion, the Republican Consul of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Higher Education Yulbarskhon Mansurov in his speech emphasized the uniqueness of this conference held in Azerbaijan for the second time, its importance in terms of joint discussion of scientific, organizational and economic issues, proposals put forward for further direction and decision-making, highlighted issues characterizing the development of innovative entrepreneurship and outlined his suggestions for the directions of the conference.
The conference then continued its work with a plenary session and sections.
Talks on the establishment of bilateral effective cooperation in the field of digitalization of transport corridors were held at both events, the development of joint projects, announcement of grants and further prospects were discussed, and relevant decisions were taken.