ASEAN'S TTCB HOLDS FIRST MEETING IN JAKARTA

Jakarta, Nov. 7 (ANTARA) - The ASEAN Transit Transport Coordinating Board (TTCB) held its first meeting at the ASEAN Secretariat here on November 5-6, 2009.

The convening of the region's first transit transport coordinating board had set the stage for the effective operationalization of all regional transport facilitation agreements, according to information available on the official website of the ASEAN Secretariat here on Saturday.

The meeting agreed on the detailed working mechanisms of the TTCB, the implementation mechanisms of agreements and protocols that have been concluded and the inter-operability of these agreements and protocols.

The TTCB also agreed on measures to expedite the entry into force of outstanding Protocols and Agreements on transport.

The TTCB was established to oversee the implementation of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Goods in Transit signed in 1998 in Ha Noi. The scope of work of the TTCB also covers the implementation of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Multimodal Transport (AFAMT) signed in 2005 and the ASEAN Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Inter-State Transport (AFAFIST) signed in 2008.

These three Framework Agreements put in place the complete transport facilitation framework to support the overall objective of ASEAN transport integration of establishing an effective, efficient, harmonised and integrated regional transport system.

This is envisaged to greatly facilitate seamless regional cargo transportation and support the recent ASEAN Leaders' Statement on ASEAN Connectivity adopted at the 15th ASEAN Summit in Cha-am Hua Hin in Thailand.

The 2nd Meeting of the TTCB will be held in the Philippines in 2010.