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UN Body Considers Draft Agreement On Trans-Asian Rail Project

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  • UN Body Considers Draft Agreement On Trans-Asian Rail Project

    UN BODY CONSIDERS DRAFT AGREEMENT ON TRANS-ASIAN RAIL PROJECT

    Asia Pulse;
    Apr 13, 2006

    TASHKENT, April 13 Asia Pulse - A draft agreement on cooperation
    for the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) project was presented in a
    ministerial-level roundtable dialogue being held in Jakarta on Tuesday.

    The move was part of the six-day 62nd Session of the United Nations
    Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

    UNESCAP Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su said in his remarks that
    through various technical and knowledge advices, the UN body was
    helping member states to develop efficient regional and international
    transportation network, improve infrastructure and promote sustainable
    tourism development in national, sub-regional and regional levels.

    The draft of the TAR cooperation agreement, which was being discussed
    in the meeting, was the final one and the signing of the agreement
    was expected to be conducted in November 2006.

    One of UNESCAP's important agendas was to help modernize avenues and
    railways in Asia under the Program of Transportation Infrastructure
    Development in Asian Mainland.

    The Trans-Asian Railway was first initiated in the 1960s and expected
    to link up a total distance of 14,000km, from Singapore to Istanbul
    (Turkey), and could be continued to Europe and Africa later.

    However, the programme has faced a number of problems such as
    regional conflicts which affected economic policy in implementing
    the TAR programme.

    A study was conducted in 1995 to look at a railway network connecting
    China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, and Korean Peninsula. A year
    later, the study continued to Southeast Asia covering Indonesia,
    Cambodia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

    The Southern corridor of the Trans-Asian Railway, which will connect
    Thailand and China's Yunnan Province with Turkey, and will pass
    Myanmar, Bangladesh, India Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Iran, was studied
    in 1999.

    In 2001, a study was conducted to look at the final corridor, which
    will connect northern Europe and the Persian Gulf, and will pass
    Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Finland, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan,
    Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

    Negotiations and finalization of the draft cooperation agreement on
    the Trans-Asian Railway Network was carried out from 1997 to 2005.
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