Theagreement, signed on the sideline of the Forum of Asian Ministers ofTransport, builds on the inter-governmental agreements of the Asianhighway and trans-Asian railway networks, built through the ESCAPplatform.
Signatories to the agreement are Cambodia, China,Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Republic of Korea,Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
Theagreement aims to promote international recognition of dry ports,facilitating investment in dry port infrastructure, improvingoperational efficiency and enhancing the environmental sustainability oftransport.
It also signals a move to a more sustainable growthpath. Dry ports create the conditions for the much needed shift of cargoflows from road transport alone to intermodal options - using roadservices in combination with more energy efficient, less pollutingalternatives such as rail, short sea shipping and inland waterways.-VNA