THE SIDE-EVENT ON “INTERMODAL CONNECTIVITY AND THE ROLE OF HISTORICAL TRANSPORT ROUTES: THE GREAT SILK ROAD” WAS HELD WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE 80TH SESSION OF THE UNECE ITC

On February 20, 2018 at the UN office in Geneva, Switzerland, within the framework of the 80th session of the UNECE Inland Transport Committee (ITC), the Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan to the United Nations Office organized the side-event entitled “Intermodal Connectivity and the role of historical transport routes: the Great Silk Road”, dedicated to the announcement of 2018 as a year of “Turkmenistan - Heart of the Great Silk Road” and implementation of the General Assembly Resolution A/RES /72/212 “Strengthening the links between all modes of transport to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals" initiated by Turkmenistan.

The event, organized on the fields of the session of one of the most important UNECE structures, which coordinates the development of the transport agenda and the implementation of the provisions of the 58 UN Conventions and International Transport Agreements, welcomed with interest among the delegations participating at the 80thsession of the ITC. The delegation of Turkmenistan as the organizer of the event was represented by the Deputy Minister of Motor Transport of Turkmenistan. The keynote speakers were the Permanent Representatives of UNECE member countries, through which runs the route of the Great Silk Road, particularly Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, deputy representative of the Russian Federation and the heads of international organizations - the President, The International Automobile Federation (FIA), the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Road Safety Mr. Jean Todt, Secretary-General of the International Road-Transport Union (IRU) Mr. Umberto De Pretto, Chairman of the Committee of the Organization for Cooperation between Railways Mr. Tadeusz Szozda, Deputy Executive Secretary of the UNECE Mr. Andrey Vasiliev. In addition, the delegations of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan also delivered separate reports.

During the event, the participants exchanged visions on the future prospects of the historical transport routes, in particular the Great Silk Road, and the views on the main aspects touched upon in the UN General Assembly Resolution A / RES / 72/212 "Strengthening the links between all modes of transport in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals". During the event, the participants also discussed the prospects for the revival of historic transport routes through the lens of intermodality, paying particular attention to one of the longest and most important routes passing through the pan-European region to the Great Silk Road.

In particular, the delegation of Turkmenistan noted that the "Great Silk Road" is getting a new embodiment in our days. In this regard, in an effort to focus attention also on the need to preserve and develop transport routes along the route of the Great Silk Road, and Turkmenistan's readiness to actively promote work in this direction, President of Turkmenistan  declared 2018 as the year of "Turkmenistan - Heart of the Great Silk Road". Speaking about the successful implementation of the initiatives of President of Turkmenistan in the field of sustainable transport, an agreed and balanced approach to solving related tasks, in particular the adoption of the UNGA Resolution "Strengthening the links between all modes of transport to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals" initiated by Turkmenistan, the delegation of Turkmenistan noted that this Resolution is a unique document of the General Assembly for ensuring full cooperation in transport field in the context of the implementation of the 2030 Global Agenda.

As is known, Turkmenistan has repeatedly reaffirmed the need for systematic global cooperation and strategic planning in the field of transport, seeing the transport agenda as a separate area of the United Nations, which is extremely important when considering the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

In this regard, the event initiated by Turkmenistan on the margins of the ITC provided another opportunity to discuss issues related to the role of the transport sector as an essential component of the implementation of the adopted global goals and objectives of the Agenda for Sustainable Development until 2030.