YEREVAN, MAY 1, ARMENPRESS: Armenia became a full member of European Conference of Transport Ministers (ECTM) this year during the April 22-24 session in Brussels, no matter how hard Turkey and Azerbaijan were trying to impede it since 1998. Armenia's transport and communication minister Andranik Manukian said to a press conference on this occasion that this membership will allow Armenian forwarding companies to enter around 40 ECTM member-countries freely, whereas currently our passenger and cargo transporters can enter only 7 countries, with which Armenia has bilateral agreements.
This membership is very important for Armenia
because it will give it the chance to become a transit country in terms of cargo
transportation, said the minister.
Armenia will have 200 quotas for its transporters to enter the member-countries
and work there, but they should make sure their travel facilities correspond
to international standards. Those companies, which provide cargo transporters
with travel facilities, will be able to offer their facilities to Armenian cargo
transporters through leasing or loaning projects without obstacles.
As transport and communication minister said,
Armenia's responsibility is to bring its legislation up to the international
standards. With this regard Armenian delegation has met with the transport minister
of the Netherlands and achieved a mutual cooperation agreement providing that
the Dutch will assist Armenia to create a favorable legal framework. The minister
also said that Turkey and Azerbaijan accepted Armenia's membership to ECTM with
reservation, our transporters do not have the right to freely travel to and
a cross these countries, but he expressed hope that the situation will be changed
in future. He also informed that this year Armenia will be the TRACECA presiding
country, inter-governmental conference of which will be held here in the first
decade of October. During its stay in Brussels Armenian delegation also met
with the European Union regional director general and achieved investment agreements
for road construction and railway restoration, said the minister.