Taking into account the modern geopolitical realities, Tajikistan considers it necessary to build cooperation in the field of transport at a qualitatively new level. In this regard, it is expedient to create a Regional Center for Transport Diplomacy. This was stated by the Minister of Transport of the Republic of Tajikistan Azim Ibrohim at the 10th Meeting of Ministers of Transport of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states, which was held on April 28  in the capital of the Republic of India.

The Minister of Road Transport of the Republic of India Shri Nitin Gadkari chaired the Meeting of Ministers of Transport of the SCO member states.

The Meeting participants supported the submission “Concept of cooperation of the SCO member states on the transport decarbonization, promotion of digital transformation and innovative technologies to achieve more efficiency and sustainability”, which was submitted for consideration.

In addition, a Special working group established to promote cooperation between the SCO member states in the field of transport. This group will facilitate meetings to share knowledge and best practices related to reducing carbon emissions from transport, advancing digital transformation and innovating technologies for more sustainable and efficient transport.

According to Shri Nitin Gadkari, India recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of Independence under the slogan “Azadi Ka Amrit Mohatsav” (“Great Independence Festival”) under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and entered into “Amrit Kaal” (“The Golden Era”). In Accоrdance with Amrit Kaal “The Green growth” is identified as a main way for reducing the carbon intensity in the economy, including promoting green mobility.

The Minister of Road Transport of India noted that in order to change the paradigm by transiting ecological clean fuels, developing technologies, which increases the efficiency and reliability of transport systems, and ensuring the sustainability of the development of the road construction sector. The SCO member states should cooperate in the field of research and development, as well as introduce innovations in road transport to develop effective solutions to today's challenges in this sector.

As Gadkari informed, India takes the third place in the world in the production of machinery and equipment after China and the United States.  "We use the EURO-6 standard to reduce exhaust emissions from automobile diesel engines. We can provide our country with “Green transport”. Today, 6 000 electronic buses are used in our country," he said.

Considering the modern geopolitical realities, Tajikistan considers it necessary to build cooperation in the field of transport at a qualitatively new level, which would help to promote the sustainable development of transport, to reduce carbon emissions to improve the quality of life and to improve the efficiency of transport systems in the SCO regions. In this regard, it is expedient to create a Regional Center for Transport Diplomacy. The Minister of Transport of the Republic of Tajikistan Azim Ibrohim stated about it in his speech at the Meeting.

 “Currently, such areas of cooperation in the field of transport as ecological  clean and green transport, the creation of the efficient transport corridors, and in this context the development of roads, roadside and transport and logistics infrastructure of the SCO member states, as well as the more active use of digital technologies in the transport industry have great prospects” he said. He mentioned that, in order to achieve higher efficiency and sustainability in the transport industry, it is important to complete the cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization with specific tasks that would satisfy the interests of all its members, due to the principles of mutual understanding, trust and mutually beneficial cooperation.

Azim Ibrohim noted that the development of the transport sector of Tajikistan is a strategic goal of the country’s Government.  In order to achieve this goal, with the direct initiative of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan respected Emomali Rahmon, from the budget funds, private investments, as well as with the support of international financial institutions and donor countries, currently there are 60 investment projects worth more than 2 billion US dollars have been implementing in Tajikistan.

The implementation of investment projects resulted in the commissioning of more than 2,200 km of international roads and other transport infrastructure that are relevant to modern standards. Today, 17 investment projects are being implementing in total amount of 1 billion and 122 million US dollars.

It’s appropriate to mention that, it contributed to the development of cooperation and an increase in trade with neighboring countries, especially with the SCO countries, trade increased by 126.4%, and by specific weight 67.3%.

The Minister of Transport of the Republic of Tajikistan said that the priority trade and transit corridors have defined in Tajikistan, which pass through the country from the East to the West, from the North to the South and have international importance. Nowadays, the work is underway to open a multimodal * corridor "Tajikistan - Uzbekistan - Turkmenistan - Iran - Turkiye" with access to Europe. The minister considered the opening and usage of this corridor very important in terms of achieving sustainable development goals. Another advantage of this corridor, according to the minister, is that it connects the territory of Tajikistan with the People's Republic of China through a highway, which contributes to the revival of the Great Silk Road and regional economic integration.

Tajikistan pays special attention to the development of the transport industry, taking into account the possibilities of digital technologies. In 2019, the Concept of the Digital Economy of the Republic of Tajikistan was adopted, which is based on the National Development Strategy for the period up to 2030, which is a common vision for the usage of modern digital technologies. To this end, we have launched work on the digitalization of the country's transport and road industry.

According to Azim Abrohim, in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, it is very important to ensure the efficient operation of transport with an emphasis on the development of a multimodal transportation system and the activation of the logistics sector. Ensuring the competitiveness of the transport system, using the transit potential, improving regional investment and developing market relations are closely related to the development of logistics in Tajikistan.

It is known that the presence of modern logistics centers in international transport corridors is the key to the effective usage of the country's transit potential. Therefore, in connection with the implementation of the planned activities within the framework of the adopted Programs, in order to ensure sufficient development of transport infrastructure, international and logistics systems, the Minister of Transport of Tajikistan Azim Ibrohim made a number of proposals:

1. To introduce new technologies to improve the safety and efficiency of international transportation, as well as to reduce the financial costs of transport for carriers.

2. To provide a transparent information system in the field of transport and logistics services, rules and procedures, taking into account the introduction of innovative methods (intelligent transport system).

3. To improve the system of procedures and rules for the transportation of dangerous and perishable goods.

4. To take measures to enforce and coordinate border control at checkpoints and increase the responsibility of the relevant authorities for coordinated border control.

5.  To combine the efforts of states to integrate the logistics centers of the countries of the region in order to obtain the maximum effect from the development of international cargo transportation.

It should be noted that the Republic of India is the current chairman of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The SCO is an intergovernmental organization founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001. The SCO currently has eight member states including India, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.