Speeches and Transcripts
Remarks to the Central Asia Transportation Infrastructure Conference
Paul B. Dyck, Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce
Dushanbe, Tajikistan
May 7, 2007
Thank you, Madame Ambassador, for that introduction. I am honored to share this podium with you and with the esteemed Mr. Zuhurov, First Deputy Minister of Transportation of Tajikistan.
I would first like to extend a warm welcome to everyone attending this conference, and a special thanks to all the speakers.
I would also like to thank the conference organizers—the U.S. Commerce Department and the U.S. Embassy—for bringing us all together here today.
This is my first visit to Central Asia. As a representative of the U.S. Department of Commerce, my goal is to expand U.S. trade links with Central Asia. It takes a long time to get to Central Asia from the U.S.—I’m still recovering from the trip—yet we already engage in nearly $2 billion in trade with the region.
Our broader U.S. goal is to improve economic cooperation in the region, which will enhance democratic opportunities and improve regional stability. We believe that
- If Kyrgyz farmers could sell their food to markets not just in Kyrgyzstan but in Afghanistan and Pakistan;
- If Uzbek traders could fly directly to Dushanbe;
- If businessmen in New York could buy airline tickets on the Internet to come here;
- And so on …
That these economic opportunities would improve the welfare of the Central Asian people.
A U.S. construction company I spoke with before I left Washington, DC, told me that its biggest difficulty in conducting business in Central Asia is the excessive time and complexity of moving goods and people across borders.
Therefore, it is timely that we are here today to discuss the development of road and air networks, the business of transport in Central Asia, and how we can work together to improve the region’s transportation infrastructure.
To that end, the U.S. Department of Commerce is working to increase the U.S. private sector’s commercial ties with your countries, as well as working with your governments to create a favorable climate for foreign investment.
First, we are working to reduce trade and investment barriers through the Central Asia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (known as the TIFA), which includes all five Central Asian countries, as well as Pakistan and Afghanistan as observers. We are planning to hold a third meeting this summer in Washington to discuss activities under the TIFA.
Second, this conference itself is part of a larger regional economic integration initiative, supported by the U.S. government, along with several international organizations. The initiative has several components, including efforts to create a regional electricity market, improve customs regimes and border security, integrating telecom systems and more.
Together, we are promoting trade links between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and, more broadly, between Central and South Asia. President Rahmon and his government strongly support this joint initiative.
This summer, we will inaugurate a U.S.-funded, $36 million Afghan-Tajik bridge over the River Pyanj: open 24 hours a day, with customs and border facilities on both sides, and the capacity to handle 1,000 vehicles per day.
The bridge is a tangible example, in asphalt and steel, of our joint efforts in this area. It will shorten the distance to Tajikistan’s access to a seaport by several thousand kilometers.
The United States is proud to have provided the funding. We are proud to have worked so closely with Tajikistan on it. And we are proud of the role played by other partners, including Japan and Norway, which also provided generous contributions. We hope that, one day, Fergana valley melons and Khatlon strawberries will be sold in Karachi, Pakistan, because of this bridge.
In addition, the Department of Commerce has a representative of its Business Information Service for the Newly Independent States (known as BISNIS) program at the U.S. Embassy here in Dushanbe who works to facilitate trade links and identify business opportunities for U.S. companies. This BISNIS representative, along with three others in Central Asia and BISNIS trade specialists in Washington, DC, are a vital part of improving and expanding the region’s commercial relations with the United States.
Lastly, the Department of Commerce offers a technical assistance program that provides training sessions in the United States for infrastructure professionals. The SABIT Program has hosted some 100 Central Asians from the transportation sector. These programs give participants the opportunity to make contacts with U.S. equipment manufacturers, learn more about how U.S. companies manage infrastructure projects, and see how the latest technologies are implemented.
I encourage our Central Asian colleagues to think about participating in this program. It is a direct link to greater cooperation between the United States and your countries. About 15 SABIT program alumni are participating in the conference today.
We need to work together to resolve the most entrenched issues in the transportation sector: inconsistent implementation of customs procedures, excessive and unclear documentation requirements, and corruption.
Resolving or reducing these issues will have a positive effect on the pace of the development of transportation infrastructure Central Asia, as well as economic growth.
However, this will require not only facility modernization and legislative reform, but also political will on the part of governments to punish those caught engaging in corrupt practices and take other steps, such as raising salaries of customs officials.
We hope that this conference will complement the initiatives and projects already underway in the region, but we also hope it will serve as a unique event because of the composition of its participants. The U.S. and Central Asian private and public sectors are represented, as are multilateral financial institutions, international development organizations, and industry associations. We also invited other countries active in the development of transportation infrastructure, including China, Russia, and India.
The number of different parties here today is reflective of the complexities of developing transport, with multiple stakeholders involved, and often with competing interests. However, the number of potential beneficiaries from improved transport links is vast, as these links are critical to economic development and integration into the world economy.
I look forward to the presentations and the frank discussion that I am sure will follow.
Thank you again, and enjoy the conference!
