MINSK, 2 July (BelTA) – More flights between Belarus and Kazakhstan will be available soon, BelTA learned from the press service of the Transport and Communications Ministry of Belarus.
A delegation of the Transport and Communications Ministry of Belarus led by Deputy Minister Sergei Dubina visited Kazakhstan. During a two-day trip to Nur-Sultan the Belarusian delegation held a number of meetings with their Kazakhstani counterparts. The Kazakhstani delegation was led by Vice Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Berik Kamaliev.
The meeting focused on bilateral cooperation in the field of road, rail and air transport.
As far as road transport is concerned, the recent years have seen a sharp increase in transit by Kazakh carriers through the territory of Belarus - in 2020 it amounted to about 300% as against 2011. In this regard, the Transport and Communications Ministry of Belarus suggests increasing the quota of permits for international road haulage to / from third countries. In addition, Minsk proposes to switch to the electronic exchange of permits in the short term after completion of the necessary procedures. The meeting participants agreed to hold a meeting of a joint commission on road transport in Minsk in October 2021.
Cooperation in civil aviation was another central topic on the agenda. In particular, the parties welcomed the decision of the aviation authorities to resume Minsk - Nur-Sultan - Minsk flights and increase their frequency from four to seven flights a week. Minsk - Almaty - Minsk flights will be available four times a week instead of two. Minsk - Kostanay - Minsk flights will be operated twice a week. The gradual resumption of regular flights between the two countries will continue.
In addition to that, the participants of the meeting pointed to increased cargo transportation by rail between Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan suggested holding joint events to share best practices in toll collection, international forwarding in road transport, electronic waybills and digital solutions in logistics. These events can be arranged on the sidelines of the Belarusian Transport Week and the Transport and Logistics annual international exhibition this autumn.
The Belarusian delegation also met with senior officials of the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan, Kazaeronavigatsia, and Kazakhstan Railways.
