SPECA Countries Discuss Expansion of Transport Cooperation During Pandemic

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The high-level Regional Dialogue titled “Strengthening Transport Connectivity in the SPECA Region and Beyond in the Era of COVID-19”, organized by the Government of Turkmenistan in cooperation with the UN, its regional commissions and relevant specialized agencies, was held in a video conference format on Wednesday.

According to the Turkmen Foreign Ministry’s press release, the meeting participants considered a number of key issues of expanding multilateral partnerships in transport sphere during the coronavirus pandemic.

The heads of international organizations and high-ranking representatives of the countries who took part in the Dialogue emphasized the particular importance of consolidating efforts to improve the efficiency of international transport corridors, optimize the activities of government agencies and companies involved in the formation and development of transport and communications systems.

Taking into account the specifics of the current time, the parties focused on the need to develop new international legal mechanisms to ensure the functioning of transport systems in emergency conditions.

The event was attended by the UN Under-Secretary-General Fekitamoeloa Katoa, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe Olga Algayerova, heads and representatives of the UN  Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations Development Coordination Office. The Minister of Public Works of  Afghanistan, deputy ministers of Transport of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan also took part in the meeting.