Formation 1993 | Location Eurasia | |
Type Economic cooperation organization Membership 14 plus 28 European Union members Website www.traceca-org.org/en/home/ | ||
TRACECA (acronym: Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia) is an international transport programme involving the European Union and 14 member States of the Eastern European, Caucasian and Central Asian region. The programme aim is to strengthen economic relations, trade and transport in the regions of the Black Sea basin, South Caucasus and Central Asia. It has a permanent Secretariat, originally financed by the European Commission, in Baku, Azerbaijan, and a regional office in Odessa, Ukraine. Since 2009 the organisation has been entirely financed by member countries.
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Origins
TRACECA was established in May 1993, upon the signing of Multilateral Agreement on International Transport for the development of transport initiatives (including the establishment and development of a road corridor) between the EU member states, the Caucasus and Central Asia countries. The programme supports the political and economic independence of the former Soviet Union republics through enhancing their access to European and global markets through road, rail and sea. The objectives of TRACECA were underlined by the Baku Initiative of 2004, followed by a further ministerial conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2006.
Membership
The following states currently participate in the TRACECA program:
Iran officially joined TRACECA in 2009 after their request was accepted during that year's September Brussels meeting. However technical assistance related to the project has not been provided to Iran since 2010 due to UN Security and EU sanctions.
In July 2016, Greece announced they are considering joining TRACECA activities as an observer.
Secretary-General
The Secretary-General is a Chief Executive Officer of the Permanent Secretariat. The first Secretary-General elected by the Intergovernmental Commission was a representative of Georgia, ambassador Zviad Kvatchantiradze.
The current Secretary-General is Mircea Ciopraga, appointed by the Intergovernmental Commission in January 2015.
Projects
TRACECA has five working groups: maritime transport, aviation, road and rail, transport security, and transport infrastructure. Amongst its specific projects was the creation of a new bridge to replace and protect the heritage bridge at Krasny Most, between Georgia and Azerbaijan.