UNECE presents eTIR progress at the Regional Meeting of the National Trade Facilitation Committees in Central Asia

In the session dedicated to the digitalization of customs and transport procedures and paperless trade, the UNECE TIR secretariat presented the state of play of the eTIR procedure deployment. The presentation highlighted the significant progress achieved in Central Asia, where Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have finalized their interconnection project with the eTIR International System, while the interconnection of Kazakhstan is schedule for the end of November 2026.

These interconnections are already in operation. In 2026, eTIR transports were carried out between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, from Tajikistan to Uzbekistan, and across the Caspian Sea between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, including a transport from Azerbaijan to Uzbekistan via Turkmenistan.

All five countries rely on the eTIR National Application, the first United Nations Digital Public Good software, developed by the UNECE TIR secretariat in cooperation with the UN Open Source United community. Available free of charge to Member States as open-source software, it reduces the time required to interconnect to eTIR IS from 13–15 months to approximately one month.

Finally, UNECE briefly presented the state of play of the eCMR Protocol, which relies on the functional specifications adopted by the Working Party on Road Transport (SC.1) and on UN/CEFACT data standards to ensure interoperability.

UNECE will continue to support Central Asian countries in the implementation of the eTIR procedure, paving the way for fully paperless transit along the region’s transport corridors.