OREANDA-NEWS. Meeting in Ankara with IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto, Turkish Customs and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkci, Iran Ambassador to Turkey Alireza Bikdeli, and TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu have celebrated the recent successful pilot transports using eTIR.

With the recent lifting of UN sanctions on Iran, the focus on Turkey-Iran overland trade corridors is becoming ever greater.

Noting Turkey’s aim to increase exports to US 500 billion by 2023, the 100th anniversary of the modern Turkish Republic, Minister Tüfenkci stressed the importance of rapid border crossings and efficient transit systems in accelerating trade.

He added that, with one third of Turkish trade transported to and from neighbouring countries by road, TIR, and particularly the transition to eTIR, will play an important role in helping Turkey achieve this goal.

eTIR is a paperless, fully digital version of TIR, the world’s only universal cross-border transit system.

The eTIR pilot project has been led by the Turkish and Iranian customs authorities, two pioneer volunteer transport operators and the two countries’ respective TIR Guaranteeing Associations, ICCIMA and TOBB, working together with IRU and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

Taking place late last year, the first phase eTIR pilot transports were a resounding success, demonstrating that the new paperless digital TIR actually works in a real transit environment.

The second phase of the pilot, involving additional customs offices and transport companies, begins this month. Additional functionality, including on-line payment of electronic guarantees and the use of electronic signatures, will also be tested in this phase.