Asian transport ministers agree to work
Monday, 21 December 2009
FE Report
Transport ministers from across Asia have agreed to work on a treaty to promote the development of dry ports - inland transport and logistics hubs - to spur intraregional trade and growth. The agreement came at the end of the first session of the Forum of Asian Ministers of Transport, which concluded Friday at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok.
In the Bangkok Declaration on Transport Development in Asia, the ministers agreed to develop an intergovernmental agreement on dry ports to provide connectivity and integration of the Asian Highway and the Trans-Asian Railway networks, creating an international integrated intermodal transport and logistics system.
Under the auspices of ESCAP, countries in the region have already adopted two intergovernmental agreements - on the Asian Highway and the Trans-Asian Railway networks - to promote the development and standardisation of 141,000 kilometres of roadways and 114,000 kilometres of railways, linking the continent with Europe and serving as arteries for international trade, especially for landlocked countries in the region.
Dry ports will play an important role in integrating modes of transport, reducing border crossing and transit delays, facilitating the use of energy-efficient and lower emission means of transport, and creating new clusters of economic growth and job creation in local areas.
The first session of the Forum brought together 27 Asian countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkey. In his opening message Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that "enhanced regional connectivity is especially important" in addressing development issues.
Transport ministers from across Asia have agreed to work on a treaty to promote the development of dry ports - inland transport and logistics hubs - to spur intraregional trade and growth. The agreement came at the end of the first session of the Forum of Asian Ministers of Transport, which concluded Friday at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok.
In the Bangkok Declaration on Transport Development in Asia, the ministers agreed to develop an intergovernmental agreement on dry ports to provide connectivity and integration of the Asian Highway and the Trans-Asian Railway networks, creating an international integrated intermodal transport and logistics system.
Under the auspices of ESCAP, countries in the region have already adopted two intergovernmental agreements - on the Asian Highway and the Trans-Asian Railway networks - to promote the development and standardisation of 141,000 kilometres of roadways and 114,000 kilometres of railways, linking the continent with Europe and serving as arteries for international trade, especially for landlocked countries in the region.
Dry ports will play an important role in integrating modes of transport, reducing border crossing and transit delays, facilitating the use of energy-efficient and lower emission means of transport, and creating new clusters of economic growth and job creation in local areas.
The first session of the Forum brought together 27 Asian countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkey. In his opening message Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that "enhanced regional connectivity is especially important" in addressing development issues.