Bishkek, 6 December 2023 (TDI): The first Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) consignment arrived in Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday. The Kyrgyz Trade Minister Tekebaev Tilek and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic Hasan Zaigham received the delivered goods containers.
An intimated ceremony was organized to commemorate the arrival of the first successful TIR Transportation. This signals the Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan governments’ efforts to strengthen regional connectivity and modify the transit trade procedure.
The TIR (International Road Transport) consignment was carried out by the logistics and construction organization National Logistics Cell (NCL) via the Khunjerab Pass.
The route chosen would enable the most cost-effective access to Kyrgyzstan in trading with Pakistan as well as other states globally.
Earlier in November this year, the initial operation over a new TIR route from Pakistan to Kazakhstan through China and Kyrgyzstan was completed by Pakistani transport company NLC.
Two National Logistics Cell (NLC) trucks left Lahore (Pakistan) using TIR, the only worldwide transit system, traversed the world’s greatest crossings of borders. The path constituted traveling through Sust (Pakistan) and Khunjerab (China). Afterward, commodities were delivered to Almaty (Kazakhstan) using the Turgat border across China and Kyrgyzstan.
This was the first TIR operation that passed through China, bringing the Quadrilateral Agreement on Traffic in Transit (QTTA) into TIR compliance. China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan signed the QTTA transit trade agreement in 1995.
In a joint press release, the China and Pakistan administrations announced that the Khunjerab border would be permanently open throughout the year on October 2023. Khunjerab had previously been shut from November to March. It was also committed by both sides to improve infrastructure, passage conditions, and Khunjerab Pass management.
Also Read: China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran joint transit deal
By 2021, the NLC has opened several TIR corridors, notably Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul, Pakistan-Afghanistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan, and China-Pakistan-Afghanistan. When compared to typical routes, all three reduce travel times by as much as 80 on average.
