OREANDA-NEWS. February 7, 2012. This year, Kazakhstan’s major international transport exhibition, TransitKazakhstan, took place in Astana on 10-12 November 2011, and was traditionally held at the same time with the TRANSEURASIA 2011 International Conference.

The key feature of these events was their merger into a unique exhibition and conference project, Kazakhstan Transport Days, timed to mark the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence. Apart from the events mentioned above, the agenda also included the 31st Session of the Coordinating Transport Meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the 1st Transport Forum Dialogue of Cooperation in Asia, and the 1st International Transport & Logistics Forum Silk Road 2011.

The main topic of the 8th TRANSEURASIA 2011 International Conference was “Integration Processes in Eurasia and Their Effect on the Development Outlooks of the National Transport Systems and Transcontinental Transport Corridors”. TRANSEURASIA 2011 International Conference participants included delegations from 42 countries that represented government bodies and private businesses in the area of transport, trade and logistics, as well as representatives of 16 international and regional organisations and financial institutions.

According to the Press Service of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport and Communications, the meeting discussed issues associated with transport control in the Customs Union, harmonisation of weight and size parameters of motor vehicles, as well as violations of the permitting system allowed by carriers from non-Customs Union member countries.

TransitKazakhstan 2011 exhibitors included about 100 companies from 13 countries: Austria, China, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The exhibition is organised by two leading Kazakhstan companies – Atakent-Expo and Iteca, with support and involvement from the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The TransitKazakhstan 2011 Official Opening Ceremony was attended by top managers of transport authorities and delegates of the 8th TransEurasia 2011 International Conference: Mr. Berik Kamaliyev, Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Mr. Ivan Shcherbo, Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Belarus; Mr. Ivailo Moskovski, Minister of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications of the Republic of Bulgaria; Mr. Aivis Ronis, Minister of Transport of the Republic of Latvia; Mr. Anatol Salaru, Minister of Information Technologies and Communication of the Republic of Moldova; Mr. Arunas Staras, Vice Minister of Transport of the Republic of Lithuania; and Mr. Maciej Jankowski, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of the Republic of Poland.

Opening TransitKazakhstan 2011, B. Kamaliyev, Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Kazakhstan, said: “The goal of major image-building events such as TransitKazakhstan and TransEurasia is to further Kazakhstan’s transit potential and its role in ensuring continuous and safe transportation in Eurasia.

“It is a unique opportunity to exchange expertise, address pressing issues in the transport sector, and build effective partnerships. The achievements demonstrated at the exhibition by transport authorities and companies show that Eurasia today possesses a huge potential to meet the growing needs in transport services. This will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the transport infrastructure development”.

Organisers of the exhibition emphasize the exhibitors’ increasing interest in the event demonstrated by the growing area and geographical representation of exhibitors. First-time exhibitors included companies from Austria and Sweden. Latvia’s national stand included 28 enterprises providing all types of transportation and logistics, ports, terminals, railways, training, etc.

Traditionally, the exhibition was interesting for national railway operators of Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan Temir Zholy), Russia (RZD), Ukraine (Ukrzaliznytsia), Lithuania (Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai), and Latvia (Latvijas Dzelzcels). Sea transport at this year’s exhibition was represented by the Aktau, Liepaja, Ventspils and Batumi commercial seaports.

TransitKazakhstan 2011 statistical data show a steady overall growth. As compared with the previous year, the exhibition area has grown by 15%, and the number of registered visitors has increased by 25%. During its three days, the exhibition was attended by 1,738 professional visitors. Ninety-four per cent of exhibiting companies reported that they had established promising contacts at TransitKazakhstan 2011, while 85% of exhibitors marked “excellent” or “good” in their questionnaires when asked to assess their participation.

TransitKazakhstan 2012 will be held in Atakent Exhibition Centre pavilions in Almaty, on 19-21 September 2012.