Greetings - Askar Mamin

Greetings to the Participants in the Caravan Beijing-Berlin-Brussels



Askar Mamin
Minister of Transport
and Communications,
Republic of Kazakhstan

"I wholeheartedly wish a good trip to all participants in this remarkable Caravan"

Kazakhstan, located as it is in the centre of the Euro-Asian subcontinent, is at the present time working actively to develop its transport infrastructure, improve its highway network and provide the necessary conditions or the development of transit traffic.

The New Euro-Asian Transport Initiative (NELTI) project worked out on the initiative of the International Road Transport Carriers' Union of Kazakhstan corresponds to the idea of our Head of State concerning the common interests of the Euro-Asian countries, and represents the practical realization of the UN Almaty Action Program of 2003 and the Resolution of the 5th International?Conference TRANSEURO-ASIA 2004.

It is not by mere chance that Beijing, the Chinese capital, has been chosen as the venue for the 3rd IRU Euro-Asian Road Transport Conference. The theme of the conference, "Road Transport: bridging Asia and Europe", emphasizes the importance that the world community attaches to the creation of a land transport corridor between China and Europe. This is associated with the fact that South-East Asian countries, and especially China, have in recent years been demonstrating exceptionally high rates of economic development. Today, China is the world's third largest importer and fourth largest exporter of commodities.

The present project is of special significance for the Republic of Kazakhstan, because the new transport corridor crossing the territory of our country facilitates an intensive development of our national transport infrastructure.

I am confident that this unique trip will demonstrate the economic benefits that are offered by freight deliveries by road between East and West.