Participation of Mr. Petar Kanev, PABSEC Vice-President and Head of the PABSEC Bulgarian Delegation, in the 33rd General Assembly of the Union of Road Transport Associations in the BSEC Region (BSEC-URTA), Sofia, 8 June 2018
Mr. Petar Kanev, PABSEC Vice-President and Head of the PABSEC Bulgarian Delegation, participated in the 33rd General Assembly of the Union of Road Transport Associations in the Region of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC-URTA), which took place in Sofia, on 8 June 2018.
Mr. Georgi Petarneichev, President of Association of the Bulgarian Enterprises for International Road Transports and the Roads (AEBTRI), Ms. Asli Gozutok, President of the BSEC-URTA, Mr. Velik Zanchev, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Republic of Bulgaria, Ambassador Michael Christides, Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat of the BSEC and Mr. Umberto De Pretto, representative of the International Road Union (IRU), also addressed the delegates.
In his address to the delegates, Mr. Kanev recalled the key location of the Black Sea Region in the global transit routes as well as the important role of transport for the sustainable development of the region and the increase in its economic growth. He expressed the readiness of the PABSEC to continue its cooperation with the BSEC Sectoral Dialogue partners, and in particular with the BSEC-URTA, which plays an important role in coordinating efforts to successfully implement multilateral transport projects in the Black Sea Region.
The main challenges and priorities of the Union were highlighted during the session and measures were identified to overcome the challenges. Consideration was given to facilitating border crossing procedures and reducing the time limit for border inspection of heavy goods vehicles; achieving synergies between border authorities and electronic procedures; improving carrier services; increasing the competitiveness of the sector through its digitization and the introduction of intermodal transport. In conclusion, the carriers pointed out that a number of factors were needed to solve these problems, such as the availability of a stable economic and political environment, efficient management of financial resources for transport and successful public-private partnerships.
Representatives of Albania, Armenia, Georgia, Greece, Bulgaria, Moldova, Serbia, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine took part in the meeting.