Turkmenistan has granted new privileges for Tajik heavy trucks on transit routes through its territory, the Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan reports.
The new regulation reportedly allows Tajik trucks with a load capacity of 10 to 40 tons to stay in Turkmen ports for up to 60 days without charge.
Earlier in April this, the Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan announced that Tajikistan and Turkmenistan would develop a unified pricing policy in the transport and logistics sector. The parties reportedly agreed to establish close and mutually beneficial cooperation between the logistics centers of the two countries, adhere to a unified pricing approach, and introduce optimal tariffs for international cargo delivery services to facilitate ease for carriers.
"Special attention was given to the prospects of expanding transit shipments of Tajik goods through Turkmenistan and creating a transport corridor that will connect the two countries with access to the Caspian Sea," emphasized the Tajik Ministry of Transport.
This new arrangement signifies an important step towards facilitating and improving the efficiency of Tajikistan's international trade routes, particularly in reaching Middle Eastern markets.
According to the Ministry of Transport, Turkmenistan is a key transit country for Tajik cargo carriers to access Middle Eastern countries.
The importance of Turkmenistan for Tajik freight carriers was notably highlighted in the fall of 2018 and early 2019, when Turkmen authorities banned the transit of Tajik goods through their territory. As a result, Tajik carriers had to deliver goods to and from the Middle East via the longer route of Uzbekistan – Kazakhstan – Russia – Georgia.
Recall, Turkmenistan did not allow Tajik trucks and freight trains bound for Tajikistan to pass through its territory.
Dozens of semi-trucks with cargo bound for Tajikistan were stranded on Turkmenistan’s borders with Iran and Uzbekistan for almost a month in September of 2018.
Besides, more than 40 semi-trucks moving to or from Tajikistan lain stranded on the northern and southern border of Turkmenistan for three weeks in early January and early February of 2019.
The Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan that time advised drivers of Tajik trucks stranded on Iran-Turkmenistan border to use alternate roads to return home.
Tajik drivers were forced to use the alternate road to the Middle East (Iran, Turkiye and further to Arab countries) via Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Georgia. This road reportedly cost additional 1,200 U.S dollars for each truck.
According to Tajik officials, Turkmen customs officers did not explain the reason for barring Tajik vehicles from crossing its territory such a decision.
As a result of negotiations at the ministerial level, the first several trucks with cargo bound for Tajikistan received permission to pass through Turkmen territory in mid-February of 2019.
