BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 29. Using of the TIR system for international customs transit has significantly expanded in Kyrgyzstan, rising by over 40 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, Umberto de Pretto, Secretary General of the International Road Transport Union (IRU), told Trend.
"As Kyrgyzstan continues to implement trade facilitation and harmonisation instruments, such as acceding to e-CMR (electronic version of the consignment note used under the CMR Convention when transporting goods by road) last year, it becomes an increasingly important country along the major corridors crossing it," de Pretto said.
Looking ahead to 2024, IRU anticipates Kyrgyzstan to sustain its growth in TIR volumes, capitalize on opportunities from China's TIR developments, and further digitalize its transport and transit processes by implementing eTIR in collaboration with IRU and UNECE.
De Pretto also highlighted IRU's collaboration with customs authorities and key international partners like UNECE, GIZ, the German development agency, and the US Department of Commerce’s Commercial Law Development Program to drive transport digitalization efforts in Central Asia and beyond.
Previously speaking with Trend, he said that in 2023 International Road Transport Union activated many new TIR corridors connecting Kyrgyzstan to the East and West, including the China-Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan-Pakistan quadrilateral Agreement on Traffic in Transit (QTTA) route and China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan.
