Turkmenistan Customs Service reports that an agreement has been reached with colleagues from Uzbekistan to increase the throughput capacity of the Farap-Alat checkpoint. (Lebap province, Turkmenistan - Bukhara province, Uzbekistan).
The discussion took place via videoconference.
"As a result of the meeting, measures to prevent congestion at customs posts and to increase the throughput capacity of the Farap and Alat customs posts up to 1,000 vehicles per day were identified".
The parties also spoke about the importance of reconstructing and modernizing their customs posts, which would facilitate the growth of international cargo traffic.
For Turkmenistan, the border with Uzbekistan is the longest among neighbouring states - about 1,700 kilometres, along which the Dashoguz-Shavat and Kunya-Urgench-Khujayli border checkpoints are also located.
On both sides of the border live significant diasporas of ethnic Uzbeks in Turkmenistan (some 300,000 people) and Turkmen in Uzbekistan (some 200,000 people), who form common families and rely on facilitated crossings. A free trade zone is being established in the border region of Kungrad in Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan is building a $2.3bn autobahn in that direction.
The two countries are also working together to implement the Ashgabat agreement, signed in 2011 to form an international transport and communications corridor Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman.
In addition, Ashgabat and Tashkent are discussing options for creating favourable conditions for freight traffic through the Caspian Sea port in the city of Turkmenbashi. This route could be used as part of a transnational route China - Kyrgyzstan - Uzbekistan - Turkmenistan - Azerbaijan - Georgia - Turkey - Europe.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat
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