| Abstract: |
Revival of the Great Silk Road will make a huge contribution to the collective
prosperity of ECO Member States that was repeatedly noted by the leaders of
ECO Member States. The Silk Road should be the corridor of energy, trade,
transport and communications. In this regard, the further deepening of
integration in transport and communication of ECO Member States is the most
important problem. Today the ECO region again has become in the center of
interests of the leading countries of the world, the center of the revival of
an open, progressive Islamic civilization and the birthplace of the Central
Asian economic miracle. Due to its central geopolitical position, ECO and its
individual members act as important bridge between this region and the other
regions of the world. Integration in transport sphere is one of the priorities
of ECO cooperation at the regional level, which will facilitate trade in the
region. Formation of the regional transport system was started in the
framework of the ten-year ECO program of action in the field of transport and
communications, which was adopted at the summit in May 1997 in Ashgabat. In
1998, in Almaty, by the ECO members was signed a framework agreement about
transit transport of goods and passengers. In addition, there were formed
committees, working groups and programs for the various transportation
sectors, including rail, road, sea transport, civil aviation, transportation
and communication, and multimodal transport. But despite the activities
carried out by ECO members the problem of undeveloped transport communication
system in the ECO region is still actual. This fact restrains the growth of
intra-regional trade. The basis of transport system in the ECO region is
railways, carries for more than 80% of freight and 50% of passenger traffic.
That’s why the important direction of cooperation is the modernization and
development of this sector. Analysis of the activities of the other Asian
integration groups showed that the cooperative institutions contribute to the
development of the economies of the Member States. Therefore integration
cooperation should be strengthened by combining the efforts of the Central
Asian states for solutions of regional problems.-Method of mapping and
analysis of the shortest routes, which will determine the further development
of transport corridors; -Scenario method, which will determine the possible
scenarios of transport corridors in the member countries of ECO.
Recommendations -for the creation and development of efficient transport and
communications system that provides reliable communication with global
transport corridors; -for the development of transit potential of the ECO
region and extension of its export opportunities. In respect that many
countries of Central Asia are the part of free trade zone within the CIS, all
of them have bilateral free trade agreement between themselves; the formation
of a developed transport infrastructure within the ECO will promote transit
trade that will lead to the modernization of the economies of ECO member
states and increasing their competitiveness. |