The Intergovernmental Agreement on Dry Ports is a 2013 United Nations treaty designed to promote the cooperation of the development of dry ports in the Asia-Pacific region. It was concluded under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and is open to ratification by any state that is a UNESCAP member.
Contents
Creation
The Agreement was adopted in Bangkok on 1 May 2013 by a resolution of UNESCAP and was opened for signature on 7 November 2013. It remained open for signature until 31 December 2014 and entered into force on 23 April 2016, after having been ratified by the requisite eight states.
Status
As of November 2016, the Agreement has been signed by 17 states. It has been ratified or acceded to by 11 states: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam. It entered into force on 23 April 2016.
Content
The Agreement identifies a number of existing and potential dry port locations that are to be the basis of a coordinated effort to creates nodes along an international integrated intermodal transport and logistics system. Annex I of the Agreement identifies the dry ports subject to the agreement, and Annex II contains the principles underlying the development and operation of these ports.
Annex I dry ports
The following dry ports are identified in Annex I of the Agreement. Potential dry port locations are italicised. "ICD" is an abbreviation for "Inland Container Port". Many of the locations are situated on the border between two states. Once the Agreement enters into effect, the Annex I list can be amended by a two-thirds vote of the state parties to the Agreement.