Cerro Blanco. Antropología de un Asentamiento Humano

By Mr. Eduard Biriucov, Secretary General, TRACECA

Introduction

TRACECA is one of the leading and emerging international transport corridors, specifi cally aimed at strengthening and developing trade and economic relations and optimization of transportation in the Eurasian region. Th e civil aviation sector is a strategic sector of any transportation system. All the states of TRACECA note that Civil Aviation is an important part of the transport infrastructure and its eff ective functioning is a necessary condition for sustainable economic growth in developing countries and to improve the quality of life in LLDCs.

With globalization and increasing international trade and transport relations and intensive development of the tourism industry, the demands for quality service while ensuring timely delivery and fl ight and aviation security is of particular importance. It is these conditions that require us to address the increasingly promising new tasks in accordance with our common goals, promoting technological and legal framework needed for improving transport systems.

Th e TRACECA Development Strategy

TRACECA countries decided on the TRACECA Development Strategy for the period up to 2015, adopted in 2006 in Sofi a at the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) of TRACECA. One of the main goals of this strategy is to create a sustainable infrastructure chain for multimodal transport corridors with the help of Trans-European transport networks. Improving aviation safety is also a priority for TRACECA Strategy and one of the most emerging and urgent issues in the EU transport policy. Along with that our objectives in the long term are the integration of our countries into the global transportation system, the formation of a harmonized legislative environment that meets international standards, creating favorable conditions for the development of a competitive transport industry, thus ensuring a signifi cant contribution to the economy of our states.

Th e status of air traffi c in the TRACECA region

According to forecasts by international organizations, the role of the main supplier of consumer goods in the future will continue for the Asia-Pacifi c Region, and the volume of traffi c in the direction of Europe will grow. In these conditions, the material benefi ts will be received by those countries that manage to attract their transport communications transit traffi c.

Policies of the countries of the region, aimed at expanding trade and economic cooperation and the removal of barriers to mutual trade, creates real prerequisites for the further growth of air cargo transportation, including transit. However, the existing capacity, as well as opportunities for international transit through the airspace of TRACECA member countries, is not used to the full. Th e Europe – Asia direction now accounts for about 8% of the global volume of cargo transported by air freight. It is about 4 million tons of cargo and mail.

In recent years this fi gure has been steadily growing, the rate of growth of air cargo is much higher than similar rates of growth of passenger air transportation. For example, freight between Europe and Asia by air in 2004, was about 3 million tons of cargo, and in 2008 already about 3.5 million tons, while today it is around 4 million tons. Of this amount through the airspace of countries – TRACECA member airlines carried about 300,000 tons of cargo.

Th erefore, the direction Europe – Asia is regarded as one of the most attractive for the air transport business. Th e optimum ratio of the three main factors aff ecting the competitiveness (price, quality of service, delivery of cargo) will attract more in the future most of the traffi c on our fl ight routes, which is one of the key mode for the transport of goods between Europe and Asia. In this respect, it is important for members of the TRACECA to consider the full potential of transport infrastructure, including airports and airways, as the natural and the shortest transit bridge between South and Central Europe and South-East Asia.

Attracting transit traffi c, following the directions in the Europe – Asia, on the skyway, passing through the airspace of the TRACECA countries, will provide additional fi nancial benefi ts in the form of fees for transit fl ights. Besides

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increasing the number of technical landings of aircraft at airports, TRACECA countries will encourage the development of airport infrastructure and will lead to an increase in the number of jobs and income, and also from the refueling and maintenance of air transport services.

International experience shows that the integration of air transport systems of the parties and the issues of building a common market of air transport services should be given close attention. Th e same experience has shown that the constructive engagement of authorized government agencies, air carriers and other providers of air transport services yields good results. Only a few airports in the TRACECA countries can claim to provide modern and competitive air transport hubs. Among other issues remain unresolved discrepancy in the number of our country logistics and infrastructure component of the current and future development needs of commercial air links.

Since the establishment of the Intergovernmental Commission of TRACECA, signifi cant structural changes have been made in most of countries: - separation of the functions of government regulation and economic activity in order to improve the effi ciency and modernization of air transport infrastructure; - reforms aimed at reducing the number of structures to ensure operation of state property in the airports and air traffi c control systems.

However, problems still remain and to solve them there is need to implement the following measures: - Not to restrict access to the market by licensing professional carriers and thus steadily increase control over safety; - Continue to seek investment to modernize the fl eet of aircraft, airports, air traffi c control systems and other air navigation facilities; - Improve the quality of aviation to the international standards; - Contribute to the competitiveness of transit cargo transportation and other services in the aviation market.

Investment projects in the aviation sector

To date, within the framework of the TRACECA, the European Commission funded 80 projects worth $ 171.2 million (including 66 technical assistance projects, 14 investment). Th ese projects are aimed at creating an effi cient and integrated multi-modal transport system at the EU level in TRACECA, as well as to improve the security of land, sea and air transport in the TRACECA region, and bringing it into line with EU standards, as well as the harmonization of legislation, improvement of the tariff policy, institutional strengthening. Th e implemented projects formed an environment conducive to attracting investment to the region. TRACECA strategy has defi ned a consistent method of identifi cation of priority regional infrastructure projects for investment resources for their implementation. In the TRACECA transport infrastructure, investments to Micro-credit Financing Institutes today have made more than 2 billion euros. All in the fi eld of aviation 3 projects for a total amount of 11 million euros were funded. Th ese projects are mainly focused on strengthening human resources and skills development of air transport, as well as issues of aviation and fl ight safety in the TRACECA countries. At the moment, TRACECA continues to implement the project

“TRACECA Civil Aviation Safety and Security “II.”

Enhanced cooperation in the fi eld of transport between the European Union, the countries of the Black Sea and the Caspian region, Central Asia and neighboring states is of general interest in the context of achieving sustainable economic and social development, peace and stability, and welfare in the Eurasian region. We strive to ensure that the results of our work contributed to the development of the competitiveness and attractiveness of the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA), and the joint work of the countries concerned has helped further liberalization of foreign trade and the reduction of barriers on the freight and transport, especially in the formation of an eff ective transit Eurasian route. We pay particular attention to cooperation with international specialized organizations involved in transport and trade development in the region, in order to strengthen the regional and interregional transport dialogue, and we believe that coordination of related programs and organizations will contribute to a more eff ective implementation of tasks, will avoid duplication of eff ort to optimize the use of resources and focus on doing the most realistic priorities and projects.

In this context, we are open to all initiatives for mutually benefi cial cooperation, contributing to the process of integration of the TRACECA corridor in the global transportation system, the implementation of joint infrastructure projects to regional transport dialogue and the establishment of eff ective and reliable international transport links. In this regard, we off er to start constructive cooperation with IATA as a circle of issues that may be of mutual interest. At the next

meeting of the IGC, we plan to sign a memorandum of understanding with the European Civil Aviation Conference, which consists of 44 countries, which will further expand the scope of cooperation in the fi eld of air transport between the Civil Aviation Administration of our countries and our European partners.

Th e implementation of the Basic Multilateral Agreement of TRACECA, goals and objectives of the TRACECA Strategy for the period up to 2015, along with further integration processes taking into account the current situation is for us the basis for the formation of qualitatively new conditions for regional cooperation. Th is process is playing an important role in the creation of attractive conditions for transit traffi c, the elimination of various barriers in the path of international freight and transport, improving road safety, environmental protection, harmonization of legislation, the application of a fl exible tariff policy, and issues related to the simplifi cation of customs procedures.

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IRU ACTIVITIES AIMED AT FACILITATION OF TRADE, TRANSIT AND