Armenia to join Ashkhabad agreement 

ArmInfo. Armenia is going to join the Agreement on the Establishment of the International Transport and  Transit Corridor between the Governments of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Sultanate of Oman, Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan (Ashgabat Agreement). This, as stated in the Cabinet decision of May 8, will create new opportunities for integration into the transport corridor between the Central Asian countries and the ports of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman and the use of the transport and transit potential of the participating states.

As stated in the explanatory note to the document, joining the  Ashgabat Agreement will contribute to the creation of reliable  conditions for the transportation and transit of goods and passengers through the territories of the participating states, the development of multimodal transportation, optimization of transportation costs, increasing the transit role of the republic, increasing the safety of transportation, and creating equal conditions for transport organizations of the participating states. This will ensure access to  world markets through the transport corridor, unification of transit documents required for international transportation, simplification  of customs procedures, and non-discriminatory use of the transport infrastructure of the participating states. The agreement will also provide an opportunity to streamline the process of implementing logistics transportation by various modes of transport between the participating countries, and will also contribute to the development of mutually beneficial economic and business ties between the countries, expansion of cooperation and enhancement of the transit role of the Republic of Armenia.

"The agreement is also consistent with the basic principles of the Crossroads of Peace project and will help deepen transport links and economic cooperation in the region," the draft decision says.

The Ashgabat Agreement is a multimodal transport agreement between the governments of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, India, Pakistan and Oman on the creation of an international transport and transit corridor facilitating the transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. The agreement was signed in April 2011 by the governments of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Oman and Iran  and entered into force in April 2016. Turkmenistan is the depositary state of the agreement.