Turkmenistan is making great efforts in the development of transport communications on a global scale. The initiatives of the Central Asian country receive international recognition. Director of the Institute of State, Law and Democracy of Turkmenistan, Doctor of Law Yagmyr Nuriyev told CentralAsia.news about the work carried out by the authorities of the state in order to increase the potential of the transport industry.
Revival of the Great Silk Road
On May 19, 2023, at the first China-Central Asia Summit in Xi’an, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov put forward an initiative to create effective industrial cooperation schemes, establish joint development of projects in the energy sector and transport. The head of the state confirmed the readiness of our country to expand cooperation in the transport sector, the main factor of which is the existence of objective mutual interests of the Central Asian countries and China.
Serdar Berdimuhamedov paid attention on the fact that the practical implementation of the project «Revival of the Great Silk Road» proposed by Turkmenistan is designed to give a powerful impetus to economic development in Eurasia, uniting the vast space from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans within modern principles, forming interconnected production and technological cycles and industrial belts.
Resolution «World Sustainable Transport Day»
The development of the country’s transport and communication systems and their international integration, as well as transport security, are important criteria for sustainable socio-economic development of society.
A vivid confirmation of the importance of transport on a global scale is the resolution «World Sustainable Transport Day» adopted at the initiative of Turkmenistan at the 70th plenary meeting of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly. According to an international document, November 26 is declared by the United Nations as World Sustainable Transport Day. The resolution was co-sponsored by 67 countries.
As you know, on November 26, 2016, the first United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference was held in Ashgabat. Accordingly, the choice of the date is associated with the efficiency and high organizational level of the international forum held in Turkmenistan.
The document invites all UN Member States, international, regional organizations and civil society to celebrate World Sustainable Transport Day by conducting educational work and activities aimed at increasing public knowledge in the field of sustainable transport, in particular, on building up multimodal transport links, promoting the development of environmentally friendly transport, formation of socially inclusive transport infrastructure.
World Sustainable Transport Day will help raise awareness of the benefits of sustainable transport and mobility, promote low-emission modes of transport, use alternative fuels and energy-efficient vehicles, strengthen connectivity at the regional and global levels. The international act highlights the important role of reliable transport systems in achieving the SDGs.
Resolution «Role of transport and transit corridors in ensuring international cooperation for sustainable development»
The development of transport systems and the achievement of transport harmony are becoming increasingly important for the architecture of the modern geo-economic space. The high-level international conference «Role of transport and transit corridors in ensuring international cooperation for sustainable development» held in Ashgabat in September 2014 was a significant step in the relevant direction.
As a result of the conference, the Ashgabat Declaration was adopted. It reflects the understanding of the need to develop criteria for cooperation in this area. The document provided new priorities for the UN work and became the basis for the development of the UN General Assembly resolution «Role of transport and transit corridors in ensuring international cooperation for sustainable development», which was adopted on December 19, 2014.
The document lays the foundation for the formation of transport networks combining road, rail, sea and air routes through intermodal logistics centers and land ports. The resolution enshrined a proposal to establish a Global Partnership for Sustainable Transport.
ITTC-2023 conference
The international conference and exhibition «International Transport and Transit Corridors: Interconnection and Development — 2023» held in Ashgabat on May 3-4 this year also gave a significant impetus to the further development of international relations in the field of transport and logistics. The participants of the international forum noted that the initiatives and recommendations of the conference will contribute to the creation of a reliable base for the regional transport infrastructure.
Participation in the formation of international transport standards
The system of national transport legislation of Turkmenistan has been harmonized with international standards. Turkmenistan is actively involved in the formation of international transport standards. Vivid examples in this direction are the UN General Assembly resolutions adopted on the initiative of Turkmenistan in the field of transport.
— The resolution «Role of transport and transit corridors in ensuring international cooperation for sustainable development» was adopted at the 69th session of the UN General Assembly on December 19, 2014.
— The resolution «Towards comprehensive cooperation among all modes of transport for promoting sustainable multimodal transit corridors» was adopted at the 70th session of the UN General Assembly on December 22, 2015.
— The resolution «Strengthening links between all modes of transport to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals» was adopted at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly on December 20, 2017.
— The resolution declaring June 3 as «World Bicycle Day» was adopted at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly on April 12, 2018. This document calls on the world community for the mass use of the bicycle as an environmentally friendly transport.
— Resolution «Strengthening the links between all modes of transport to ensure stable and reliable international transport for sustainable development during and after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic» was adopted at the 96th plenary meeting of the 75th session of the General Assembly UN on July 29, 2021.
— Resolution on declaring November 26 as «World Sustainable Transport Day» was adopted at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly on May 16, 2023.
It is well known that the essence of the transport system and its main tasks is the movement of people and goods. Transport is a link between the producer and the consumer, and transport is of great importance for the development of economic and cultural ties between states. Therefore, international legal norms and national legislation in this area emphasize that improving the conditions of transportation, ensuring their reliability and safety are key factors in the development of cooperation between states and peoples.
Transport legislation of Turkmenistan
The interests of road safety of any type of transportation, the protection of life, health and property of citizens, the protection of their rights and legitimate interests are the main priorities of national transport legislation. The transport legislation of Turkmenistan is harmonized with international standards and covers regulations for all types of transport: the Merchant Shipping Code of Turkmenistan (23.10.2008), the Air Code of Turkmenistan (10.01.2012), the Laws of Turkmenistan «On Railway Transport» (28.02.2015), «On Road Safety» (31.03.2012), «On Road Transport» (02.03.2013), «On Highways and Road Activities» (02.03.2013), «On Transport security» (05.01.2018), «On the fundamentals of the national transport policy» (09.07.2018).
Thus, road traffic is a set of social relations that arise in the process of moving people and goods on the roads with or without vehicles, as well as in the process of managing the conditions of this movement.
The international cooperation
The Program of Transport Diplomacy Development of the President of Turkmenistan for 2022–2025, approved by the Decree of the President of Turkmenistan on January 14, 2022, defines the goals of further strengthening the potential of transport systems and developing international cooperation.
On May 2, 2018, the Turkmenbashi International Seaport was put into operation. While implementing projects of transport and transit communications along the East-West and North-South routes, Turkmenistan also actively participates in the creation of transnational transport corridors Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia (Lapis Lazuli), Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman-Qatar, TRACECA.
The state activated relations in the field of transport with specialized UN structures, in particular, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Office of the European Commissioner for Transport of the European Commission.
In general, at present, along with the development of all types of transport, strengthening their material and technical base, Turkmenistan improves the national transport legislation in accordance with international standards. At the same time, Turkmenistan makes a worthy contribution to the development of international transport law. Sustainable and safe transport provides an organic integrity of the socio-economic mechanism.
