First Truck Arrives in Armenia from China Under Crossroads of Peace Project
On May 31, the first truck from Shanghai, China, arrived in Yerevan, Armenia, marking a milestone under the Crossroads of Peace project initiated by the Armenian government. This journey, which took about 20 days, passed through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran.
The arrival of the truck was celebrated with an official welcoming ceremony attended by distinguished ambassadors, reports Armenpress. Among them were Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia Bolat Imanbaev, Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Armenia Muhammetnyyaz Mashalov, and Ambassador of Armenia to Uzbekistan Aram Grigoryan.
"The government of the Republic of Armenia has always emphasized the importance of transport interconnections and regional infrastructure projects," stated the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia. The ministry highlighted that suitable mechanisms have been developed in both bilateral and multilateral formats to support these efforts.
Armen Sahakyan, the founding director of the organization responsible for the cargo transportation, shared insights into the logistics of the project. "After extensive planning, we successfully organized the transportation of cargo from China to Armenia under the Crossroads of Peace project," he explained.
"This shipment originated from Shanghai and was transported to Khorgos, a border crossing point with Kazakhstan. In Khorgos, the cargo was transferred to a Kazakh vehicle, completed all customs formalities, and then continued its journey. The truck traveled overland through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran, passing all relevant customs and transit points without significant issues," Sahakyan detailed.
Kairat, the truck driver from Kazakhstan who transported the cargo, shared his experience. "This is my first trip to Armenia. The journey was long, taking about 20 days from the Chinese-Kazakh border to Armenia. The roads varied, with some challenging stretches through high mountains and valleys in Armenia," Kairat recounted.
The Crossroads of Peace project is built on several key principles:
1. Sovereignty and Jurisdiction: All infrastructure, including roads, railways, airways, pipelines, cables, and power lines, operates under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries they traverse.
2. Border and Customs Control: Each country enforces border and customs control through its state institutions, ensuring the secure passage of vehicles, people, and goods.
3. International and Domestic Use: The infrastructure is designed for both international and domestic transportation, promoting seamless connectivity within and between nations.
4. Equality and Reciprocity: All participating countries collaborate on the basis of equality and reciprocity, ensuring mutual benefit and fair use of the infrastructure.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan affirmed Armenia's dedication to facilitating the opening, reopening, construction, and reconstruction of regional communications based on these principles. The Crossroads of Peace project promises enhanced connectivity and also cooperation and mutual growth among the nations involved.
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