 22 October 2009 | The 21st Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of BSEC Member States took place in Baku, Azerbaijan on 22 October 2009.
Please see below the Progress Report of the Secretary General on the Operations and Activities of the BSEC PERMIS (May – October 2009) related to the transport activities developed by the Organization in partnership with International Organizations and Sectoral Dialog Partners under the Azeri Chairmanship of the BSEC Organization (01 May 2009-31October 2009).
Development of Cooperation in Transport: This part also covers the following events:
- The Second Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Black Sea Ring Highway (Istanbul, 15-16 June 2009);
- Meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Development of the Motorways of the Sea (Novorossiysk, Russian Federation, 2-3 September 2009);
- The Fourth (Extraordinary) Meeting of the Steering Committee on Facilitation of the Road Transport of Goods in the BSEC Region (Istanbul, 9 September 2009);
- The VIII International Conference “The Black Sea Region: Complex of Transport Communications between Europe, Asia and other Continents” (Odessa, 11-12 June 2009);
- The UNECE-BSEC Seminar on the Implementation of Annex 8 to the International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods (1982, Harmonization Convention) (Geneva, 18 June 2009).
The Second Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Black Sea Ring Highway (Istanbul, 15-16 June 2009): The Steering Committee started its active phase in the implementation of the BSRH MoU having considered organizational matters regarding functioning of the Steering Committee and its Secretariat, a main BSRH route and the BSRH Action Plan. The Steering Committee decided to continue consideration of the issue regarding the route at its next meeting. The CEI and IRF representatives presented their vision on the ways of possible cooperation in the implementation of the BSRH project.
Meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Development of the Motorways of the Sea (Novorossiysk, Russian Federation, 2-3 September 2009): The Meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group (WG) on the Development of the Motorways of the Sea (MoS) was held in Novorossiysk, Russian Federation, on 2-3 September 2009.The WG elaborated on the issues resolution of which is necessary for the implementation of the MoU on the Development of the MoS. In particular, the WG approved the Russian Federation for Presidency in the WG for a two-year period; elaborated on and agreed the Plan-Concept of the MoS Master Plan; continued consideration of the draft regulatory documents of the WG and project proposals submitted by the Russian Federation.
The Fourth (Extraordinary) Meeting of the Steering Committee on Facilitation of Road Transport of Goods in the BSEC Region (Istanbul, 9 September 2009): The Fourth (Extraordinary) Meeting of the Steering Committee on Facilitation of Road Transport of Goods in the BSEC Region was held in Istanbul on 9 September 2009.The Steering Committee, in particular, took action on the possible three alternatives related to the progressive liberalization of the international road transport of goods in the BSEC Region.The Republic of Albania, the Republic of Armenia, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Turkey are ready to join the implementation of a pilot BSEC Permit in 2010 on the experimental basis for one year.The interested parties considered the draft format and usage guidelines of the BSEC Permit and requested the PERMIS to produce their updated versions by the end of September 2009. The participating Member States will provide their final feedback, if any, to the BSEC PERMIS on these updated materials by 23 September 2009.The interested parties mandated the PERMIS to manage this finalizing stage and print 200 pilot BSEC Permits for each of the participating Member States on an experimental basis.The Steering Committee noted that the Republic of Albania, the Republic of Armenia, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Turkey are ready to support the creation of a regional license system in nature with the ECMT License.The interested parties decided to create an Ad Hoc Project Group composed of representatives of abovementioned interested countries, which will work under the coordination of the BSEC PERMIS for creation of a multilateral license system similar in nature with the ECMT License.Some delegations reserved their positions with regard to certain issues related to introduction of the BSEC Permit System and creation of an Ad Hoc Project GroupThe Steering Committee approved the Republic of Serbia for the position of the Chairmanship of the Steering Committee for one year period.
The VIII International Conference “The Black Sea Region: Complex of Transport Communications between Europe, Asia and other Continents” (Odessa, 11-12 June 2009): The VIII International Conference “The Black Sea Region: Complex of Transport Communications between Europe, Asia and other Continents” was held within a Transport Week (8-12 June 2009), which included also exhibitions, seminars and meetings of business associations. The representatives of public authorities, international organizations, business transport associations and scientific circles took part in the event.The participants presented their views on the current global and regional transport development and ways of diminishing impact of economic crisis on transport. Special attention was paid to the national policies, EU initiatives, activities of international organizations such as BSEC, UNECE, and TRACECA on the issues of maritime and road infrastructure and facilitation of crossborder procedures in the Black Sea Region. Following the Conference the participants adopted the Address of the Conference to the public transport administrations and international organizations.
The UNECE-BSEC Seminar on the Implementation of Annex 8 to the International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods (1982, Harmonization Convention) (Geneva, 18 June 2009): The BSEC-UNECE Seminar on the Implementation of Annex 8 to the International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods (1982, Harmonization Convention) took place in Geneva on 18 June 2009. The Seminar was aimed at capacity building to ensure a more effective implementation of the Harmonization Convention and it was designed for government officials responsible for customs, transport and trade policies. It was also open to representatives of transport industry.The Seminar brought together all potential participants (from public and private sectors) of the current process on the introduction and implementation of Annex 8 to the Harmonization Convention. The participants discussed existing problems related to the cross-border facilitation as well as they shared the best practices in the development of the border infrastructure and procedures. Information about the outcome of the Seminar will be issued as an official UNECE document. |
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