The 10th Meeting of the Heads of ECO Railway Authorities was held in Islamabad on August 13-14, 2009. Achieving full quorum, the Meeting was attended by all the ECO Member States. A delegation of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the delegation of the ECO Secretariat also participated in the Meeting.
Inaugurated by the Federal Minister of Railways of Pakistan, the Meeting considered a range of subjects related to development of the regional cooperation in the field of railway transport. These included ways and means to implement the Relevant Articles of TTFA, regional railway projects along different routes in the ECO region; new ECO Program of Action for Transport & Communications, and ways to enhance cooperation with international organizations in the field of railway.
The participants deliberated on how best railway projects could be incorporated into the New Programme of Action for ECO Decade of Transport and Communication. The Meeting urged the member states to forward to the Secretariat their respective railway projects with regional significance within a given deadline. These proposals will be incorporated into the New Programme of Action, and they will be showcased in the Donors’ Conference to be convened soon.
The Meeting agreed on a set of arrangements to have the feasibility of Container Train run along Bandar Abbas-Almaty Route implemented at an early date. The Study would involve participation of the National Focal Points of the concerned Member States. A meeting of the en-route countries will be held in Kazakhstan in 2009 as part of this Study.
Ways and means were agreed on to expedite the implementation of the feasibility study on the ECO Container Train on Istanbul-Tehran-Almaty-Urumchi route, as well as connection of China through the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Afghanistan and Afghanistan to Turkey via Iran.
The Meeting took concrete measures to ensure the success of the ECO Container Train on Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul Container Train on 14th August, 2009.
The Meeting commended the recent progress in expanding relations, on railway matters, between the ECO and international organizations, including ECO, IDB UNECE, OTIF, TRACECA, and CIT. The Meeting requested the Secretariat to intensify contacts with such international organizations to secure their technical assistance for accession to, and/or implementation of the international railway agreements and conventions by the ECO member states.
The representative of IDB renewed the Bank’s commitment to enhancing regional cooperation in the context of the ECO, as a strategic thrust of the Bank under its Vision for 1440 (H). The Bank would consider financing projects of regional significance for development of transit transport in the ECO region. The Meeting appreciated IDB for continuous support to the activities of the ECO, particularly in the field of transport development.
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