Trade tools key to powering commerce across Eurasia

At the Eurasian Development Bank's (EDB) Annual Meeting and Business Forum in Almaty, Kazakhstan, IRU called for hard infrastructure to be matched by trade facilitation tools to keep goods moving smoothly.

The forum's "Seamless Eurasia: A Logistics Hub at the Crossroads of Continents" panel explored recent developments impacting connectivity in the region. The main focus was on Central Asia as both a transit hub and a rapidly evolving cargo market.

Central Asian countries are modernising their infrastructure, with EDB financing several projects. EDB has identified a shortage of modern warehouses capable of handling various types of cargo as a key obstacle to commerce.

The panellists also discussed the role of trade and transit corridors as well as interoperability between different modes of transport.

IRU General Delegate to Eurasia Vadim Zakharenko provided the operator perspective: drivers continue to face long queues at borders, congestion, lengthy inspections, and costly intermediary services - despite infrastructure improvements.

"Road transport is flexible and quickly adapts to keep supply chains up and running, which is crucial for a region with landlocked countries," said Vadim Zakharenko. "And operators know how to run efficient and sustainable services, but they are concerned that some expenses are rising faster than overall logistics costs."

Throughout the session, delegates were polled and identified the following trade barriers across Eurasia: slow customs procedures and underdeveloped digital infrastructure (35%), limited capacity and unreliability of transport corridors (30%), poor connectivity between modes (20%), and lack of warehouse and logistics infrastructure (15%).

"When infrastructure modernisation is coupled with internationally harmonised standards, such as major UN trade and transport facilitation tools like TIR and CMR, it ensures the right balance between facilitation and security. It also maximises return on hard infrastructure investment," said Vadim Zakharenko. "Soft connectivity has been central to boosting inter- and intra-regional trade for decades."

eTIR and eCMR, which are now available to all countries in the region, are among the most powerful levers for making cross-border trade more efficient, transparent and secure.

"Central Asia is at the forefront of innovation, making the transition to UN digital trade and transport facilitation tools a reality," concluded Vadim Zakharenko. "IRU and its members stand ready to support this progress and work with governments in the true spirit of public-private partnership."