TIR System in Afghanistan and the regionKabul, 25 August 2015

Kazem Asayesh

Senior Adviser on TIR and Trade Facilitation

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TIR system in ECO region

0

500'000

1'000'000

1'500'000

2'000'000

2'500'000

3'000'000

3'500'000

4'000'000

Qu

anti

ty

Year

TIR Carnets Issued/Year

ALL ECO member states are TIR Contracting Parties

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Country Association 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 20142015 (7 months)

AZERBAIDJAN ABADA 5,000 5,500 9,000 9,500 7,600 7,800 9,100 11,400 10,300 4,800 2,300

IRAN ICCIMA 33,000 48,000 52,000 48,000 58,000 54,000 78,000 85,000 105,000 90,000 45,000

KAZAKHSTAN KAZATO 19,600 32,650 39,050 32,150 31,000 30,050 24,500 19,000 25,000 24,200 12,500

KYRGYZSTAN AIRTO-KR 6,250 11,450 18,100 17,050 15,050 14,050 20,700 17,100 22,200 20,900 7,100

TADJIKISTAN ABBAT 50 300 500 400 900 700 1,500 2,950 3,500 4,000 1,500

TURKMENISTAN THADA 400 1,000 1,000 1,000 2,000 3,200 4,700 6,000 7,500 11,000 6,000

TURKEY TOBB 589,000 689,000 788,500 765,000 490,000 701,500 672,000 685,000 540,500 385,500 246,500

UZBEKISTAN AIRCUZ 1,800 4,500 7,000 5,000 6,500 9,000 14,100 17,500 7,500 9,000 6,000

Total issued to group during the year

  655,100 792,400 915,150 878,100 611,050 820,300 824,600 832,950 721,500 549,400 326,900

Number of TIR carnets issued to ECO Associations from 2005 to 07/2015

Total TIR Carnets issued to ECO Associations in 2005 – 2015 (till Jul) = 7,927,450

This represents 27% of all Carnets issued in the world during the same period.

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2010 2011 2012 2013 20140

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

UZB

AZE

TKM

TJK

KAZ

KGZ

TIR system in ECO countries

Overall growth of TIR transport must be accompanied by the implementation of IRU risk management

tools – RTS/TIR-EPD to mitigate the risks.

Chart Title IRN 50%TUR = 419,552 (-35%)

UZB 16%

AZE -43%

TKM 249%

TJK 280%

KAZ -26%

KGZ 36%

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TIR Carnets used by ECO transport operators in 2013 - 2015

64% of Carnets issued to ECO Holders were used for transport between ECO countries

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TIR in Afghanistan, a challenge but moving

First Afghanistan TIR Truck from Afghanistan to

Kazakhstan

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Background

Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce & Industries (ACCI) established in 1931

Member of IRU since 1983

TIR re-activated on 4 September 2013

TIR-EPD implemented as IT TIR risk management tool

First TIR operations conducted to Afghanistan by foreign TIR Holders (from Kazakhstan, Iran, Turkey, Lithuania)

First TIR Holders (1 approved, 3 applicants)

TIR system in Afghanistan

337 TIR terminations but only 2 TIR Carnet issued

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TIR challenges in Afghanistan

MONTH 2014 Jan 15 Feb 15 Mar 15 Apr 15 May 15 Jun 15 Jul 15 TOTAL

Number of TIR transport terminated in Afghanistan

245 20 23 10 0 0 0 39 337

%age of SafeTIR data transmitted within 0 day

97% 100% 100% 100% - - - 100% 99%

Transport and transit challenges in Afghanistan

Infrastructure, security, road permit, visa, training, bilateral and regional arrangements, accession to international transport Conventions are examples of challenges Afghanistan faces,

TIR is not a free pass; other pre-requisites (visa, permits, licenses) are needed

A comprehensive policy and action plan on transport and transit involving all relevant stakeholders needs to be implemented

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Pakistan Finally acceded to TIR Convention

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Pakistan acceded to TIR on 21 July 2015

By Pakistan accession to TIR Afghanistan and Central Asian landlocked countries will have better access to open sea,

Pakistan accession to TIR; a win-win game in ECO

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China`s imminent accession to TIR!

TIR accession file has been submitted to the State Council, the highest decision making body, for final approval

China`s accession to TIR will have a positive impact on Afghanistan and all ECO region as immediate beneficiary

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TIR will be operational soon in UAE

TIR implementaion in UAE will be another opportunity for ECO member states

Dubai and Abu Dhabi ports offer huge potential for intermodal transport

UAE is a TIR Contracting Party since 2007

All 7 UAE Emirate Customs signed the Guarantee Agreement with ATC, UAE National Association, in order to implement TIR

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eTIR pilot: MoU signed with UNECE on 24 March 2015, final technical work ongoing with Iran and Turkey