Strasbourg, 04/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 30 April 2015, European and Asian transport ministers concluded two days of meetings in Riga, as part of the Asia-Europe dialogue (ASEM) (see EUROPE 11303).
They closed their work with the adoption of a three-page document that contained no surprises or any concrete commitments. They promised to work towards the “the development and improvement of integrated Euro-Asian transport routes … thus contributing to the growth and prosperity of the Eurasian nations, facilitate closer cooperation among all relevant stakeholders - political, institutional, business, non-governmental, academia and research institutes - to promote a greater degree of harmonization and coordinate investments in transport infrastructure”.
The signatories highlight the market potential of environmentally friendly rail-based transportation and the importance of international organisations such as the UN and different organisations representing the interests of stakeholders. They also acknowledge the challenges encountered by landlocked, island, archipelagic and geographically-peripheral regions.
Violeta Bulc, the European commissioner for transport, asserted: “It is for me important to understand the needs and priorities of the different Asian countries”. She pointed out that the EU's three priorities were: digitalisation; decarbonisation and internationalisation (see EUROPE 11306). She also indicted that she had already launched the process for extending the EU's central transport network by beginning with the Balkans (see EUROPE 11299). She added that “We have launched a very good dialogue with Moldova and Azerbaidjan”. (Jean Comte)