TRACECA: Transit time from China to Europe may be reduced to stable 15 days

The Permanent Secretariat of the TRACECA Intergovernmental Commission (Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia), together with the World Bank (WB), is working on the development of a performance index, TRACECA Secretary General Jasurbek Choriev said during the session "Seamless Eurasia: A Logistics Hub at the Crossroads of Continents" at the Annual Meeting and Business Forum of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), Report informs.

"We are cooperating with the WB, together with which we are creating a performance index. The problem is that all states provide information according to different standards, and their data does not always align with what other countries consider to be correct. For example, when assessing the transit time from China to Europe, today one can find many different analytical estimates.

Some claim that it still takes 60 days, while in certain cases, we manage it in 15-18 days. However, the optimal goal is, of course, reducing this period to a consistent 15 days of transit. At the same time, when we calculate all these timeframes, the primary data received from different states is not always accurate. That is precisely why simplifying the data collection procedure is also extremely important, so that when conducting analysis and presenting results, the performance index is unified and produces an absolutely clear and transparent figure for each participant of the logistics corridor," emphasized Choriev.

As the secretary general noted, TRACECA, in cooperation with relevant UN structures and national agencies of a number of countries, is carrying out a set of measures for the digital transformation of transit freight transportation in the region.

"In Uzbekistan, an electronic permits system has been put into operation, which is already functioning with Türkiye and Azerbaijan, and in the near future, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan will join it. This solution completely eliminates paper-based document flow. TRACECA intends to extend this solution to other states. The system provides for electronic permits to be sent directly to the border checkpoint, which eliminates the need to submit additional documents to transport ministries," the secretary general added.