Transport connectivity is an important factor in the sustainable development of countries and regions. Transport projects not only change the configuration of communication routes and logistics between countries and regions but also help achieve global goals: overcoming isolation, developing trade, improving conditions in small towns and settlements, promoting gender equality, ensuring better access to education and healthcare, and fostering overall economic growth.In other words, transport plays a significant role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, which have been adopted by the Community of Nations and supported by UN member states. Thus, transport connectivity serves as an important agenda for mutually beneficial cooperation.
International Initiatives of Turkmenistan
Strengthening international ties in transport and trade sectors is among the priority areas of Turkmenistan’s economic strategy. The SPECA Week held in Ashgabat, where sustainable transport, transit, and trade were at the center of discussion, clearly demonstrated how relevant and in-demand this direction is, and that it is one of the most promising areas with enormous potential for joint work among the countries participating in the SPECA Program. It is also important to note the readiness of regional countries to cooperate in this direction.
The Program’s focus on improving and expanding transport connectivity and simplifying trade procedures will allow each country to contribute to the implementation of the UN’s global Agenda for Sustainable Development until 2030.
In this regard, Turkmenistan’s international initiatives to create and develop transport corridors, strengthen interconnectivity and interaction among all modes of transport to support the establishment of sustainable multimodal transit corridors and achieve sustainable development goals are of great importance. At the initiative of Turkmenistan and with the unanimous support of member states of the Community of Nations, a Resolution was also adopted declaring November 26 as World Sustainable Transport Day.
The Resolutions call for efforts to promote regional and interregional economic integration and cooperation, including through improved planning of transport infrastructure, increased mobility, strengthened transport links, and support for trade and investment development.
UN Resolutions on Turkmenistan’s Initiative
Six Resolutions of the UN General Assembly, adopted on Turkmenistan’s initiative in the field of sustainable transport, “laid the foundation for the formation of new international legal instruments aimed at increasing the efficiency of the work of national governments and international organizations in the transport sector,” emphasized the President of Turkmenistan in his Address to the participants of the Economic Forum during SPECA Week.
Within the framework of the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, held on Turkmenistan’s initiative in 2025 in the National Tourist Zone “Avaza,” a number of parallel events also took place dedicated to issues related to the development of transport infrastructure in landlocked countries and cooperation in this area.
Transport Diplomacy and Regional Cooperation
Taking an active position in promoting transport diplomacy, Turkmenistan, considering the advantages of the geostrategic position of Central Asian countries, strives to make the SPECA region a reliable and modern transport and logistics hub in the modern transport architecture.
“Recognizing the importance of developing sustainable transport systems, strengthening logistics interconnectivity, and organizing reliable transport and communication infrastructure in the context of a changing world economy, it is particularly important to define specific joint steps oriented towards the long term and their consistent implementation,” noted the President of Turkmenistan in his Address to the participants of the Economic Forum held during SPECA Week.
National Development and Modernization
At the national level, Turkmenistan is actively modernizing and developing modern transport infrastructure, expanding constructive cooperation with SPECA countries and other states, and implementing digitalization of logistics, electronic data exchange, and harmonization of border-crossing procedures for goods.
Great importance is attached to the comprehensive modernization of the Ashgabat–Turkmenbashi railway in developing the transport and logistics system, strengthening the country’s transit potential, and expanding Turkmenistan’s participation in international transport corridors. This steel artery is of strategic importance for the country’s socio-economic development, connecting the regions of Turkmenistan with the International Seaport of Turkmenbashi and also playing an important role in coordinating the national railway network with international corridors such as Lapis Lazuli, TRACECA, North–South, and East–West, ensuring the connection between maritime and land transport.
By developing transport infrastructure and trade relations, our country has significantly increased export volumes, achieves sustainable economic development, and contributes to the implementation of regional economic programs.
Outcomes of SPECA Week in Ashgabat
The transport component at SPECA Week in Ashgabat was a key theme, focusing on transforming Central Asia into a transport hub, developing multimodal corridors (to China, the Persian Gulf, Europe), digitalizing logistics, strengthening trade routes, and creating “green” transport solutions, within the framework of Turkmenistan’s priority to develop regional transport connectivity and integration with the global economy.
Forum participants supported the consolidation of efforts to develop East–West and North–South transport routes; development of projects to create multifunctional international transport and logistics infrastructure; improving transport efficiency through digitalization of customs and transit procedures; developing integrated transport solutions using different modes of transport; and introducing environmentally friendly solutions in the transport sector. In this context, the strategic importance of Turkmenistan’s transport diplomacy was emphasized.
Trade Facilitation
The very foundation of SPECA is regional cooperation, which is further strengthened through trade integration. SPECA countries proceed from the premise that trade facilitation can help simplify, standardize, harmonize, and modernize trade between countries, thereby increasing international trade volumes, accelerating and reducing its costs, and making it more accessible to small and medium-sized participants. Implementing reforms in trade facilitation is also important for developing countries in the context of achieving sustainable development goals.
In trade and transport corridors, standards of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) are applied to harmonize procedures, simplify cross-border movement of goods, and create unified electronic systems. They help participating countries create effective transport networks and improve transit opportunities, which is especially relevant for landlocked countries. UNECE agreements and conventions unify transport rules (road, rail), customs procedures, and facilitate border crossings.
At the forum, Turkmenistan, in the context of WTO accession and improving trade procedures in the SPECA region, emphasized its interest in adopting and implementing the SPECA Strategy on Trade Facilitation and developing a Roadmap for its implementation; conducting analysis and developing recommendations to reduce non-tariff barriers in trade within the SPECA region.
Logistics Digitalization
Our country also attaches great importance to the implementation of the Roadmap for Digitalization of the Trans-Caspian Corridor. As noted at the Forum, within the framework of the Concept for the Development of the Digital Economy in Turkmenistan and the State Program for the Development of the Digital Economy, the country’s maritime transport system has been modernized. The International Seaport of Turkmenbashi has implemented a Terminal Operating System (TOS), ensuring automation of ship, cargo, and logistics flow processing, which has significantly increased operational efficiency and process transparency.
A bilateral agreement on automated data exchange has been concluded between the seaports of Turkmenbashi and Baku, representing an important step towards creating port-to-port digital exchange in the Caspian region.
Work continues on Turkmenistan’s accession to the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic, which simplifies formalities and limits the list of documents previously submitted by carriers, establishing a list of documents required by state authorities supervising ships and cargo.
The State Customs Service of Turkmenistan has integrated the digital TIR-EPD system with the ASYCUDA World automated customs data system module, developed by the International Road Transport Union (IRU).
Work on the digital integration of transport systems, both domestically and with regional countries, continues, including based on UN principles such as open standards, semantic interoperability, multimodal logic, and electronic document exchange.
At the forum, Turkmenistan announced its intention to continue digitalization efforts so that the port systems of the Trans-Caspian Corridor continue to align data exchange formats with UN/CEFACT standards, and economic operators in the region begin pilot B2B projects based on electronic data exchange along the supply chain.
Conclusion
The proposals and recommendations put forward by forum participants are designed to contribute to improving the connectivity of SPECA countries’ economies with Europe and Asia, which in turn will attract new investments, technologies, and innovations to the region.
Overall, the events within SPECA Week provided a good opportunity to develop strategies and plans to achieve specific results, namely the sustainable development of the participating countries of the United Nations Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia.
Sapa Gurbanberdiyev,
Deputy Chairman of the Turkmen Logistics Association
