The road transport industry has warmly welcomed the reopening of Turkmenistan’s borders to international transport and transit. Turkmenistan, which sits in the middle of north-south and east-west connectivity, is looking to introduce additional measures to bolster the security and transparency of transit operations.
During a recent visit to Turkmenistan, Tatiana Rey-Bellet, IRU’s Director of TIR and Transit, reviewed with Maksat Hudaykuliev, the Head of the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan, how TIR can strengthen the security of transit, as well as measures to streamline corridors passing through the country.
Noting the important achievements in digitalising Turkmenistan’s customs procedures, including the implementation of ASYCUDA WORLD, an integrated customs management system, as well as TIR-EPD, Turkmenistan’s customs expressed their interest to further digitalise TIR procedures.
The TIR-EPD application, launched in Turkmenistan in September 2022, allows TIR operators to send advance cargo information electronically. This fundamental step, among other efforts, is setting the groundwork for Turkmenistan to join other ongoing digital TIR projects as well as to prepare itself to connect to the international eTIR system.
IRU, together with its member the Turkmen Association of International Road Carriers, also visited the customs post “Artyk” on the Turkmenistan-Iran border, where customs authorities have opened green lanes (express lanes at border crossings) to prioritise customs clearance for TIR transport.
Additionally, IRU and Turkmenistan’s Agency of Transport and Communications discussed the importance of investing in human capital and supporting the professionalisation of transport companies and their drivers. Such efforts would improve Turkmen operators access to international markets, boosting the country’s exports. TIR digitalisation in Turkmenistan is supported by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).
