From September 6 to 8, 2025, the 11th meeting of the heads of customs services of the member states of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was held in Turkistan, Kazakhstan. The event was attended by the Chairman of the Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, A. Mavlonov.

The prestigious conference was also attended by the Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States, Kubanychbek Omuraliev, the heads of the customs services of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and a representative of the Hungarian customs administration.

The participants reviewed the implementation of agreements reached at the meeting held in Baku in January this year. They discussed the current status of the issue of mutual recognition of authorized economic operator institutions among the member states of the organization, as well as the development of a unified program through the mutual integration of national systems.

The head of Uzbekistan’s customs service emphasized the need to complete technical work on the Agreement on a Simplified Customs Corridor by October of this year and to launch it in a test mode.

When reviewing the implementation of the Action Plan for introducing the E-TIR procedure in the OTS region, the Chairman of the Customs Committee also highlighted the urgent need for a unified approach within the organization.

Today, the international E-TIR system – an electronic procedure of the TIR Convention that came into force in May 2021 – is used in about 80 countries worldwide.

The introduction of the E-TIR procedure is of particular importance for the formation of a unified transit network across the OTS member states. This procedure offers several advantages, including reducing customs clearance time and lowering transportation costs.

At the initiative of the Uzbek side, a meeting on this issue was proposed to be organized jointly with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the International Road Transport Union. These initiatives were supported, and as a result of the meeting, a joint statement was adopted on the use of the E-TIR procedure in the OTS region.

Following the meeting in Turkistan, memorandums of understanding were also signed on cooperation in the field of risk management and customs laboratories in the OTS region.

As part of the event, Chairman of the Customs Committee A. Mavlonov held a bilateral meeting with the Chairman of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sh. Bagirov.

The parties reviewed and signed a new plan of cooperation for 2025-2026.

Sh. Mamaturopova, UzA