Belarus, Uzbekistan plan to abolish road transport permits

Belarus and Uzbekistan are working to abolish the permit system for all types of road transport, the press service of the Belarusian Transport and Communications Ministry told BelTA following the meeting of the Belarusian-Uzbek mixed commission on international road transport.

“Taking into account the mutual trade and the robust development of international road transport, the parties found it appropriate to amend the agreement in part of abolishing the permit system for all types of road transport. The parties also agreed to draft a protocol to make appropriate liberalization changes to the agreement, having worked out the issue with the appropriate authorities," the press service said.

Belarus and Uzbekistan also agreed to increase the quota of permits for the current year and reached an agreement on a preliminary quota of permits for 2022. Belarus' Deputy Transport and Communications Minister Sergei Dubina and Deputy Minister of Transport Jasurbek Choriyev of Uzbekistan signed the relevant protocol.

Cooperation in transport was one of the items on the agenda of a meeting of the Belarus-Uzbekistan joint intergovernmental commission chaired by Belarus Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Subbotin and Uzbekistan Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the interaction in this sector has gained momentum. In 2020, the sector posted growth across almost all aspects or maintained positions similar to 2019. Mutual trade in transport services between the two countries surged by almost 80% as against 2019.

Belarusian Railways has tackled the technical and technological issues necessary to launch the Minsk-Tashkent freight train. The parties will also continue to work together on creating a competitive environment for transporting goods by rail.

As for air transport, the passenger traffic increased in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which demonstrates the demand for air travel service in this direction. The parties also agreed to hold consultations between aviation authorities to increase the frequency of regular flights.