A regular two-day meeting of the national secretaries of the Intergovernmental Commission of the international Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) has opened in Odesa (South Ukraine).
Participating in the event are representatives of the TRACECA Standing Secretariat headed by TRACECA Secretary General Ruslan Zhenalinov, the European Commission as well as heads of sea departments of the project member countries.
Head of the TRACECA National Secretariat for Azerbaijan Akif Mustafayev said the meeting participants will discuss issues related to international cargo sea transportation safety.
The Intergovernmental Commission of the international Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) was established in 1998. It includes 12 countries - Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Romania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Egypt and the Republic of Korea applied with a request to join TRACECA.
TRACECA - is an attempt to revive medieval realities of the Great Silk Road (from China to Europe across the Central Asia and Minor Asia). TRACECA transport networks run across the countries rich in mineral resources and energy reserves which could be explored. In addition to TRACECA participants, development of the corridor is also supported by the EU (project's main donor), the US, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.
According to forecasts, annual total volume of the transit freight traffic along TRACECA route across Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan will grow by 35-40 till 2010 percent against 2008.
