XXIX Plenary Meeting of the International Coordinating Council on Trans– Eurasian Transportation (CCTT)

On November 5-6, 2020, the XXIX Plenary Meeting of the International Coordinating Council on Trans– Eurasian Transportation (CCTT) was held in Moscow at the Representative Office of the CCTT in the Russian Federation under the chairmanship of the General Director-Chairman of the Board of JSC RZD, Chairman of CCTT Mr. Oleg Belozerov.

More than 350 participants from 24 countries joined the online broadcast of the meeting: heads and authorized representatives of ministries and departments, customs services, railways, seaports, shipping companies, transport and logistics, insurance, security, IT companies, international and public organizations (UNECE ITC, UNESCAP, EEC, UPU, WCO, OTIF, OSJD, UIC, CIT, FERRMED, REC, RSPP), national associations of operators and freight forwarders, etc.

The results of the forum were widely covered in Russian and international business specialized publications.

At the opening of the meeting, the following speakers made welcoming remarks: State Secretary-Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation D. S. Zverev, Member of the Board (Minister) for Energy and Infrastructure of the Eurasian Economic Commission E. A. Kaikiev, General Director-Chairman of the Board of the Swiss Federal Railways-Vincent Ducrot, General Secretary of the China International Freight Forwarders Association Li Zhimin and Director of the Chengdu Port and Logistics Office Du Jin. In their speeches, they noted the high status and effectiveness of the CCTT in issues of development of transit container transport, increasing the attractiveness of Euro-Asian land transport corridors and increasing the role of rail transport for international trade.

Mr. Oleg Belozerov, in his report on the topic "Transit potential of Trans-Eurasian corridors and challenges of international logistics", stressed that due to the well-coordinated interaction of transport and logistics companies, railways and customs services on the CCTT platform, international rail transport is provided in the normal mode with the prevention of supply chain disruption. Joint decisions taken in the CCTT format contribute to the formation of a competitive tariff policy and increase the competitiveness of railways in international transportation.  

Among the tasks facing the CCTT, O. V. Belozerov emphasized the need for further coordination of the interaction of all market participants and the creation of new popular logistics products, the introduction in close cooperation with the border and customs authorities of innovative blockchain technologies, smart contracts, electronic document management, improving the environmental friendliness of railway transport and the development of competencies in the field of training specialists in international transportation and logistics.

Vice-presidents of the CCTT - Chairman of the Board of JSC "NC "KTZ" S. M. Mynbaev, President of the Group European Trans-Eurasian operators and forwarders (GETO), Managing Director of  Mukran port Harm Severson, President of the Association of Trans-Siberian intermodal operators of Japan (TSIOAJ) Mr. Kenjiro Masuda and the President of the Russian Association of Forwarders and Logistics organizations Ms Olga Melnikova – proposed measures for the development of Euro-Asian transportation.

The Secretary General of the CCTT, Mr. Gennady Bessonov, and the heads of the CCTT working groups presented their reports on the implementation of the decisions taken during last year's 28th CCTT Plenary Meeting (Nur-Sultan, September 19-20, 2019).

In the "Development of rail corridors in the Asia – Europe connection" the heads of the national Railways of Belarus, Poland, Finland, Latvia, Mongolia, the Deputy head of the FCS of Russia and the Universal Postal Union, DB CARGO, JSC UTLC ERA and CRCT told about the results achieved in implementation of the planned development strategies, implementation of projects on development of infrastructure, information services and simplification of customs procedures.

On the results of the organization and implementation of cargo transportation as part of container transportation through the Dostyk border crossings/Altynkol, Zamyn-Uud/Erlian, Naushki/Sukhbaatar, Grodekovo/Suifenhe, Zabaikalsk/Manchuria and Hunchun/Mahalino, as well as in the development of multimodal transport through the North-Western ports and the ports of the Far East, the heads of transport and logistics companies-members of the CCTT – made their presentations. Issues related to the development of multimodal transport, the organization and promotion of linear container services, as well as the development of infrastructure and transport capacities of European ports to ensure the smooth organization of multimodal transport in the (reverse) Euro-Asian direction are identified as important and very relevant today.

Special attention was paid to the work carried out in the CCTT format to ensure the safety of goods transported in international traffic with the use of intelligent systems for monitoring the location of cargo and electronic navigation seals on the example of the CCTT Project "Security Train", which is headed by the adviser of the General Director of the FSE "Department Security Service of Railroad Transport of Russian Federation" Mr.  S. V. Medvedev.

S. V. Abbasov, First Deputy General Director of Digital Logistics LLC, told about the implementation and of electronic services on transport, about the project of the CCTT "Integration Digital Platform". 

The heads of governmental, international and non-governmental non-profit organizations and associations spoke about the results of joint work within the framework of a long-term partnership and cooperation with the CCTT, as well as suggested further promising areas for its strengthening.

In a separate block in the format of two practical sessions at the 29th Plenary Session of the CCTT, the issues of further development of cooperation between the CCTT and the implementation of international postal transport by rail were considered.

Within the framework of the meeting, a Memorandum between the CCTT and Northstar Sinogold Export Chengdu on the establishment of the Business Cooperation Alliance was signed.

Within the framework of the meeting, a practical session was held on the organization and implementation of the transportation of international mail and e-commerce goods by rail. Representatives of the UPU, China Post, Germany and Lithuania presented the results of joint work with the CCTT on debugging the technology of MPO transportation as part of container trains in the China – Europe – China connection.

An important aspect of the issues discussed at the 29th CCTT plenary meeting this year was the challenges and constraints associated with the spread of the global COVID – 19 pandemic and how the current situation affected the range of goods transported, the conditions for providing transport services to customers, supply disruptions and the competitiveness of various modes of transport for the transport of medical and related groups of goods.

The XXIX CCTT Plenary Meeting will contribute to the further constructive development of international cooperation and strengthen the interaction of partners in the development of agreed solutions for the benefit of all participants in the transport process.