On October 28, 2024, a roundtable discussion, with the title “Prospects and Challenges to Cooperation in Transport“, took place on the subject of the cooperation between the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) and the EU.
The event, organized by the Representation Office of the OTS in Hungary, was attended by the ambassadors of the OTS member states to Hungary, the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFA) and those of the Ministry of Construction and Transport, as well as by experts on transportation and other invited guests. At the meeting the participants were greeted by Ambassador dr. István Vásáry, the Executive Head of the Representation Office. He reminded the participants that, this April, the second meeting of the Transport Coordination Committee of the OTS took place right here in Budapest. On that occasion, the issues cooperation in the field of transport and how challenges arising in times of crises could be addressed and solved were discussed. The present roundtable coincided with Hungary holding the presidency of the EU, a position which, in the near future, may give an impetus to realizing common efforts. An introductory speech was delivered by István László Dux, the Head of the Department for Common Foreign and Security Policy and Enlargement of the MFA. In his opening remarks he emphasized the main tasks that the regular and observer members of the OTS face, such as bolstering tranportation and transit through the so-called Middle Corridor in a way that would improve efficiency and connectivity in the entire region. The ambassadors of the OTS countries to Hungary also spoke at the event, and shared their views on the most important questions in the field of transport, from the point of view of the regular and observer members of the OTS countries. As it was said, improving transport is also going to be a major topic at the summit of the Heads of State and of the Heads of Government of Turkic countries, to be held in early November in Bishkek. After the speeches there were panel discussions held, where the experts invited by the Representation Office were speaking about, among other issues, the practical questions regarding the execution of the Joint Action Plan (“Roadmap”) of the Transport Connectivity Program for 2023–2027, the initiatives for digitalization and the importance of simplifying border-crossing procedures. The speakers unanimously agreed that the fact that Hungary is a member of the EU besides being an observer member of the OTS increases its importance in the development, modernization of transportation in the Turkic world.
