middle east trade & road transport survey

MIDDLE EAST TRADE & ROAD TRANSPORT SURVEY 2009

Arab Union of Land Transport

Middle East Trade & Transport Survey 2009

Ta b l e o f c o n t e n t sLand Linkage between the Gulf Countries and the Mediter-ranean Sea is vital! Preface by Dr. Mahmoud Abdallat, Secre-tary General of the Arab Union of Land Transport

Road transport facilitation is key to make the Middle East region one of the main transit arteries of the world! Preface by Haydar Özkan, General Delegate of the Interna-tional Road Transport Union to the Middle East & Region

This is AULT

This is the IRU

Regional Trade Facts and Figures

• Intra-ArabTrade• ExternalTrade• WorldTradeStatistics• MainExportsandImportsofGoodsandProducts• RegionalGDPbyWorldGDPover1995-2005and2006

Road Transport

• MiddleEastNeedsRoadTransport• RoadTransportInfrastructureandCapacityUtilisation• MainInternationalRoadTransportCorridors• NumberofRoadMotorVehicles• RoadSafetyintheMiddleEastRegion• RoadTransportTrainingintheMiddleEastregion• LogisticsPerformanceofCountriesintheMiddleEastRegion• BarrierstoRoadTransportintheArabicRegion• EconomicCostofBarrierstoRoadTransport• Thewayforward:MiddleEastcountriesmustaccedeand implementprioritytransportconventionsoftheUN• IRUDubaiDeclaration:RoadTransport,theVitalLinktoProgress

Other Modes of Transport

• Railways• RailwayTransportInfrastructureandCapacityUtilisation• MainRailwayCorridors

• SeaPorts• SeaPortsInfrastructureandCapacityUtilisation• MainSeaPortsintheRegion

• Airports• AirwayTransportInfrastructureandCapacityUtilisation

Regional Transport Policy

• RegionalPolicyCentresonTransport• Inter-GovernmentalTransportAgreements• StatusofUNECEConventions• CustomsTransitFacilitation•TheIRUSecretaryGeneral’sconclusions

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Dr.MahmoudAbdallat

Secretary General Arab Union of Land Transport

Theimportanceoftradeinthispartoftheworld is becomingmore significant duetotheexpectedhugeincreaseofvolumeespeciallyamongstArabcountries.

The present volume of trade betweenArabcountriesisonlyabout11%oftheirtotaltrade,andthispercentagehasbeenstatic for the last few years. There is apoliticalwill,manifestedthroughthe lasteconomicalArabsummitheld inKuwaitlastJanuary,torapidlyincreasethispres-entpercentage.

Furthermore,ArabCountriesareexpect-edtobetterinterconnectthebigcontain-erportsintheGulfregionwiththeMedi-terraneanSeabyservingtheinternationaltransittradebetweendevelopingandde-velopedmarkets.Thisnotonlypromisesconsiderable additional revenues to tran-sit countries en route but also presents new business opportunities to regional

countriesandfacilitatesglobally integra-tionofthesemarkets.

Hence,itisforeseeablethatthedemandfortransportserviceswillbeincreasedinthenearfuture.Sincealmost100%ofthebilateraltradebetweenmanyArabCoun-tries (e.g. Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Ara-bia&Iraq)isalreadycarriedoutbyroadtransport and the land linkage betweenGulf countries and the MediterraneanSeaisvital,roadtransportwillclaimthebiggestportionofthisrisingdemand.

Therefore, it becomes gradually moreimperativetotheArabcountriestoworktogether for facilitate and develop roadtransportonaregionallevel.

This vision as well as existing globaltrends and such regional facts havemade this study,whichwascarriedoutbytheIRUincooperationwiththeAULT,

anecessityIhopethatitwillrevealsomefundamentalfactsandfiguresaboutthisimportantindustryinourregionandthatitwill constitute added-value to readersanddecisionmakersintheArabworld.

Preface

Land Linkage between the Gulf Countr ies and the Mediterranean Sea is v i ta l !

5

MiddleEastTrade&RoadTransportSurvey2009

HaydarÖzkan

General Delegate to the Middle East and Region

International Road Transport Union

The remarkable increase in the pace ofglobalisation since the collapse of theBerlinWallhastaughtthatthemorebor-dersbecometransparentthefastertradegrows, but only to the extent that roadtransportcancopewiththecontinuouslyincreasingdemandofbusiness for roadtransport’shighquality,doortodoorser-vices.

Indeed,anotherlessonisthatthesmall-erourplanetbecomes, theharsher thecompetitionbetweenentrepreneurs,pro-ducers,farmersandevenindividuals.

Under these pressures, applying inno-vative logisticssolutionsanddevelopingnew trade routes,where road transportplaysacentralrole,forcheaperandfast-er transit of international tradegoods isacommonpriorityandarisingchallengeforall.In this connection, the Middle East re-

gion,whichservesasabridgebetweentheArabianSea,Africa,CentralAsiaandEurope,hasanhistoricchancetoserveglobaltradeasoneofthemaintransitar-teriesoftheworld.

Thisisnotonlyachancebutalsoanewsource of substantial income for thestates in this region, which, however,must promote and facilitate road trans-portasatoppriority.Todoso,theroadmapisverystraightforwardandclear:ac-cedetoandimplementallthekeyUNECEconventions,whichtogloballyharmonisefrontiercontrols,simplifycustomsproce-dures and facilitate transit of international tradebyroad.

Themissionof the IRUPermanentDel-egationtotheMiddleEastandRegionis,inpartnershipwithIRUMemberAssocia-tionsintheregion,toaccomplishthisinthemostefficientmannerpossible.

This study, which is the product of agrowing cooperation between the IRUand the Arab Union of Land Transport(AULT),isafirststepinthisdirection,aspart of our efforts to collect and shareregional tradeand transport informationwithcompetentstateauthorities,regionalorganisationsandtheprivatesector.

We hope that it will also assist targetgroupstobuildacommonvisionandbe-comeoneofthedrivingforcesforwork-ingtogetherforabetterfuturein

Preface

Road transport faci l i tat ion is key to make the Middle East region one of the main transit arter ies of the world!

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2009: 53 Members in 13 Countries

Created 1976

TheArabUnionofLandTransport(AULT)isapan-AraborganisationrepresentingroadtransportinterestsintheArabStatesLeague.Itsmem-bersconsistmainlyofpublicandprivateoperatorsofcollectivepassengerandfreighttransport,primarilycross-border(54membersin14Arabcountries).IthasapermanentrelationshipandobserverstatustotheArabtransportMinisterscouncilandArabTourismMinisterscouncilwithintheArabStatesleague.TheAULTisbasedinAmman,Jordan.

Foundedin1976asanoffspringoftheArabEconomicalUnityCouncil,AULTimplementsthelandtransportstrategylaiddownbytheCouncilofMinistersofTransportintheArabStatesLeague. AULT’sprimeobjectiveistoexertallpossibleeffortstowardsthesmoothmovementofpassengersandgoodsbyroadsbetweenArabcountries.ByfacilitatingthetransportofcargoandthemovementofpeopleamongArabcountriesandencouraginginternaldomesticArabtourism,AULT‘sultimategoalistocontributetowardstheachievementofArabeconomicunity.

AULTalsoaimstocoordinatetheeffortsofitsmembersandtoprovidethemwithassistancethattheymayrequiretoimprovethequalityoftheiroperations.AULTendeavourstocontinuouslyintegratethelandtransportfleetsofitsmembersinordertoencourageoperationalandcommercialcooperationamongstitsmembers.

Inaddition,AULTconductsstudiesandresearchondifferentissuesrelatedtolandtransportandmakestheseavailabletoitsmembersandtoconcernedparties.

T h i s i s t h e A U LT

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TheInternationalRoadTransportUnion(IRU), foundedinGenevaon23March1948, is the international organisationwhichupholdstheinterestsoftheroadtransportindustryworldwide.Viaitsnet-workofnationalMemberAssociations,it represents the operators of buses,coaches, taxis and trucks, from largefleetstoindividualowner-operators.

The IRU, which has a truly global vi-sion, also acts effectively at a nationalandevenlocallevelthroughitsnationalMembersandwithauthoritiesby:

“Work ingtogether fora better future”

T h i s i s t h e I R U

2009: 180 Members in 74 Countries

Created in 1948: 8 Founder Countries

8 RegionalTradeFactsandFigures

R e g i o n a l Tr a d e : F a c t s a n d F i g u re s

Int ra-ArabTrade

In1995,thevolumeofintra-Arabimportswas$11,042millionandvolumeoftheintra-Arabexportswas$13,185million.Accordingtoavailabledata,totalintra-Arabtradewitnessedanoverallincreaseovertheperiod1996-2006,equivalenttoaround302%.Thiswasdrivenbyanoverallincreaseinintra-Arabtradefor19Arabcountries.Iraqwitnessedanincreaseof1,498.8%overtheperiod1996-2006,followedbyBahrainwitha500%increaseandEgyptwith459.5%increase.OnlySomaliaandLebanonwitnessedanincreaseoflessthan100%,with20.57%and91.64%respectively.

Thisimprovementintheoverallsceneofintra-Arabtradewasdrivenbyimprovementsinthevolumesofintra-Arabexportsandintra-Arabimports,whichin2006reached$55.82billionand$52.31billionrespectively.Grossintra-Arabexportswitnesseddramaticannualupsurgesstartingin2002,andparticularlyin2004withanannualincreaseofabout43%,mainlyduetoanincreaseinpricelevels,butdeclinedto21.7%in2005andthenincreasedto25.8%in2006.

9


RegionalTradeFactsandFigures

Source:ArabMonetaryFundStatistics

COUNTRY 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006% change 1996-2005

JORDAN 1713 1670 1352 1360 1701 2122 2326 2559 3840 5078 5871 196.44

EMIRATES 3196 3327 3704 3598 3932 4506 5321 6943 9403 10615 14728 232.13

BAHRAIN 0.91 0.93 0.93 0.98 0.93 1993 2118 2616 5496 4250 5458 467447

TUNISIA 1001 0.84 0.82 0.86 1098 1218 1366 1493 1631 1955 2522 95.30

ALGERIA 0.48 0.59 0.41 0.44 0.48 0.59 0.94 1116 1485 1591 1802 332745

SAUDI ARABIA 7884 8362 6996 7291 7979 8390 9726 13409 18791 26708 32577 238.76

SUDAN 0.58 0.61 0.78 0.61 0.61 0.62 1218 1451 1481 2150 2354 368051

SYRIA 1215 1363 253 1045 1195 1259 2058 1886 2644 2627 3228 116.21

SOMALIA 0.21 0.24 0.23 0.24 0.21 0.24 0.31 0.35 0.40 0.47 0.64 122.97

IRAQ 0.61 0.86 0.56 0.68 0.99 1538 2266 2238 3930 7962 9811 1296643

OMAN 2031 2461 2795 2651 2974 3206 3566 3228 4676 4944 5382 143.43

QATAR 0.68 0.75 0.80 1089 1175 0.90 1591 1414 2197 3054 3374 449018

KUWAIT 1395 1484 1457 1432 1507 1588 1770 2195 3679 3722 4286 166.81

LEBANON 1273 1006 0.93 0.85 1094 1338 1205 1558 2270 2328 2439 82.88

LIBYA 0.90 1119 0.93 0.90 0.98 0.81 1062 1114 1192 1694 1924 187289

EGYPT 1009 1189 1461 1485 2058 1749 1726 1951 3211 4117 5643 308.03

MOROCCO 11767 1189 1014 1191 1688 1635 1677 1584 1892 2758 3205 -76.56

MAURITANIA 0.04 0.08 0.04 25.50 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.18 0.11 0.13 162.50

YEMEN 0.58 0.67 0.85 959.75 1131 1217 1739 2034 1913 2648 2761 458826

TOTAL 32,489 23,176 19,039 22,133 27,536 31,762 40,736 48,789 69,732 88,202 107,366 171.48

Annual growth rate (%) n.a. -28.67 -17.85 16.25 24.41 15.35 28.25 19.77 42.92 26.49 21.73

Table1:TotalIntra-ArabTrade(MillionUSD)

1 0 RegionalTradeFactsandFigures

Inturn,intra-Arabimportsimprovedbyaround330%overtheperiod1996-2006.Iraqwitnessedthelargestincrease(5,693%)inthevolumeofintra-Arabimports(calcula-tionsbasedondatafromAMFstatistics)overtheperiodstudied,drivenbylargeincreasesofabout150%in2001and203%in2005.2003howeverwitnessedadeclineof2%intheintra-ArabimportsofIraq,whichwascounteredbyanincreaseof53%inthefollowingyear.

AsshowninTable3,thevolumeofintra-ArabimportsofmanyArabcountriesalsoincreased,suchasEgyptwitharound507%,Sudanwith425%,Yemenwith413%,UAEwith335%,andSomaliawith311%.

Table2:Intra-ArabImportsandExports1996-2006


Million USD

Total Intra-Arab

Exports

Annual Growth

Rate

Total Intra-Arab

Imports

Annual Growth

Rate1996 14,713.52 n.a. 12,173.86 n.a.

1997 15,910.32 8.13% 12,826.15 5.36%

1998 13,305.25 -16.37% 12,995.42 1.39%

1999 14,081.30 5.83% 13,613.85 4.76%

2000 16,073.70 14.15% 15,685.38 15.22%

2001 16,982.59 5.65% 17,976.58 14.61%

2002 21,062.08 24.02% 20,979.10 16.7%

2003 25,528.45 21.21% 23,683.36 12.89%

2004 36,451.63 42.79% 33,862.83 42.98%

2005 44,361.30 21.7% 44,410.45 31.15%

2006 55,819.38 25.8% 52,309.80 17.79%

1 1



ExternalTrade

The total external trade for Arab countriesfluctuatedover theperiod1996-2005, reg-isteringaminimumof -7.67% in1997andamaximum of 27.21% in 2005. The aver-agegrowthrateoverthisperiodwas4.9%.Theannualgrowthratedeclinedto13.66%in2006comparedto27.21%inthepreviousyear.Table4givesanoverviewofthevalueoftotalexternaltradeofArabcountriesovertheperiod1996-2006.

The statistics indicate that Arab countrieswereexposedtoaregionalandglobalcrisis,whichledtosignificantvolatilityintheevolu-tionoftheirtotalexternaltradeduringthe10yearsfrom1996to2006.Despitethisfact,theperformanceofcertaincountriessuchasKuwait,Qatar,Libya,Sau-diArabiaandAlgeriahasbeenmuchmoresuccessfulthanothers.

Inthisconnection,theaverageannualgrowthoftotalArabexternaltradehasbeen27.93%during the same period,which shows thatArab countries domore business with therestofworldandintegratetheirmarketswithworldmarketsinaveryhealthymanner.Indeed,thissimplefactistheanswertowhyArabcountriesshouldjointheUNmultilateralconventionsandinternationalagreementstofacilitateroadtransport.


COUNTRY 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

%

change

1996-

2005

JORDAN 13,014 12,002 9,655 7,226 6,600 6,778 6,792 6,079 7,081 7,726 8,424 -40.63

EMIRATES 114,790 106,418 87,124 75,925 82,370 78,489 78,880 92,109 123,585 151,349 165,559 31.85

BAHRAIN 13,645 12,329 9,754 10,020 11,254 9,962 10,720 10,993 11,098 14,156 15,975 3.74

TUNISIA 20,730 18,738 18,795 17,351 16,279 16,203 16,088 16,767 18,419 18,438 19,490 -11.05

ALGERIA 33,899 33,669 28,211 25,652 33,726 29,035 27,357 33,157 41,135 54,456 63,818 60.64SAUDI

ARABIA130,272 120,035 86,100 92,460 109,874 99,154 102,661 121,275 155,677 209,314 238,788 60.67

SUDAN 8,693 7,351 4,670 3,662 4,253 3,999 3,501 3,957 5,702 6,403 7,762 -26.34

SYRIA 15,340 13,701 10,559 8,563 9,769 10,033 10,588 9,584 8,930 10,318 12,744 -32.74

SOMALIA 0.95 0.78 0.674 0.538 0.45 0.408 0.392 0.428 0.527 0.54 0.588 -43.11

IRAQ 25,762 24,350 22,821 18,975 27,921 25,139 24,548 11,821 19,241 24,614 29,910 -4.46

OMAN 18,207 16,483 14,137 13,810 17,320 16,866 16,303 16,344 19,206 23,717 25,779 30.27

QATAR 16,333 13,826 10,981 12,008 15,609 14,594 14,230 15,881 22,041 29,083 29,848 78.06

KUWAIT 30,896 30,081 22,246 23,150 28,476 24,117 22,519 29,408 38,706 55,184 67,006 78.61

LEBANON 10,463 9,988 10,120 7,845 7,159 8,180 7,273 7,730 8,806 9,346 9,857 -10.68

LIBYA 21,324 19,945 12,566 11,548 17,879 15,367 11,521 14,119 18,888 34,476 42,825 61.62

EGYPT 38,071 32,883 25,988 20,449 21,165 22,419 23,352 25,010 28,973 29,317 33,581 -22.99

MOROCCO 30,420 27,837 24,952 21,668 19,239 18,170 19,350 19,567 20,185 19,071 20,954 -37.31

MAURITANIA 1,768 2,001 1,389 0.938 0.818 0.872 0.679 0.647 0.757 0.981 1,714 -44.47

YEMEN 7,494 7,282 5,483 6,152 6,712 6,374 5,652 5,740 6,245 7,790 8,139 3.96

TOTAL 552,080 509,710 406,232 377,944 436,879 406,169 402,415 440,626 555,212 706,291 802,770 27.93

Annualgrowth

rate(%)n.a. -7.67 -20.3 -6.96 15.59 -7.03 -0.92 9.49 26 27.21 13.66

1 2 RegionalTradeFactsandFigures

ThevolumeoftotalexportsforArabcountriesfluctuatedovertheperiod1996-2005,withanaveragegrowthrateof15.88%.Theyregisteredthelargestincreaseof50.34%in2000ascomparedtoadeclineof24.14%in1998.Inaddition,afterregisteringanannualgrowthrateof39.54%in2005,thevolumeoftotalexportswitnessedagrowthrateof17.95%in2006.

Availablepreliminarydatafor1995showthatvolumeofimportsforArabcountriestotalled$133,770million.AMFstatisticsfortheperiod1996-2005showanegativeaveragegrowthrateoftotalimportsof-9.34%,duetoanoveralldeclineinthevolumeofimportsthroughoutthisperiod,despitetheimprovementin2004whichregisteredanannualtotalimportsgrowthrateof10.51%(seeTable4).

Despite the improvement in intra-Arabtrade, it remains below ambitions ascompared to the total external trade ofthe Arab world. According to the dataavailable,theratiooftotalintra-Arabtradetototalexternaltradescored110.4%in2006 , a rise up from 8.64% in 1996.Throughout the period of 1996-2006,this ratio reachedaminimumof7.82%inyear2000,andapeakof11.69% inyear2004.

Seenfromanotherperspective,theshareof Arab external trade in world tradewitnessed an overall decrease over theperiod-1996-2006, to reach 3.28% in2006comparedtothepeakof5.19%in1996.Yetthisratioreacheditsminimumof2.88%in2003andthenincreasedin

thefollowingyears.Inaddition,theshareofArabinternaltradeinworldtradede-creased from0.31% in 1996 to 0.17%in 1998, and then witnessed a steadyincreaseover theperiod1996–2006 toscoreapeakof0.44% in2006.Table6belowshowstheshareofArabexternaltradeandIntra-Arabtradeinworldtrade.Note that these figures show the verysmallshareofArabexternaltradecom-paredtothesizeofoverallworld trade.Theyalsoshowthattheflowofexternaltrade is facilitatedmore in theArab re-gioncomparedtotheflowof intra-Arabtrade,duetomanybarriersimpedingtheflourishingofintra-Arabtrade.

Table4:ExternalArabImportsandExportsduring1996-2006

Million USDTotal

Intra-Arab Exports

Annual Growth

Rate

Total Intra-Arab

Imports

Annual Growth

Rate1996 179,507.66 n.a. 372,572.91 n.a.

1997 184,986.21 3.05% 324,723.86 -12.84%

1998 140,323.31 -24.14% 265,908.93 -18.11%

1999 175,087.86 24.77% 202,857.48 -23.71%2000 263,226.57 50.34% 173,652.47 -14.39%

2001 238,338.05 -9.46% 167,831 -3.35%

2002 244,857.99 2.74% 157,557.15 -6.12%

2003 300,834.28 22.86% 139,791.72 -11.28%2004 400,723.10 33.2% 154,489.44 10.51%

2005 559,154.41 39.54% 147,136.65 -4.76%

2006 659,531.29 17.95% 143,239.40 -2.65%


1 3


Table5:ShareofArabExternalTradeandIntra-ArabTradeinWorldTrade*



*Inthistable,thesizeofworldtradeiscalculatedbyaddingthevaluesofworldimportsandworldexportsaspresentedintheArabMonetaryFund–ArabUni-fiedEconomicReport,fortheperiod2002-2007.TheratiosofArabexternaltradetoworldtradeandintra-Arabtradetoworldtradearealsocalculatedbasedonthestatisticstablesinthesereports.

(Billion USD) 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

World Exports

5273.4 5529 5396.6 5664.5 6385 6140.4 6428.1 7510.7 9133.2 10370.5 12005.2

World Imports

5368.2 5624.4 5524.1 5821.2 6595.6 6392.3 6640 7763.3 9477 10747.9 12448.9

Totsl World Trade

10641.6 11153.4 10920.7 11485.7 12980.6 12532.7 13068.1 15274 18610.2 21118.4 24454.1

Arab External Trade/ World Trade

5.19% 4.57% 3.72% 3.29% 3.37% 3.24% 3.08% 2.88% 2.98% 3.34% 3.28%

Intra-Arab Trade/ World Trade

0.31% 0.21% 0.17% 0.19% 0.21% 0.25% 0.31% 0.32% 0.37% 0.42% 0.44%

1 4

WorldTradeStatistics


Data fromUNCTADshow that in2000, thevolumeofexportsofdevelopingcountriesmadeup31.7%ofthevolumeofworldexportscomparedtoashareof27.6%inyear1995,whilethevolumeofimportsofdevelopingcountriesslightlyincreasedin2000to28.7%comparedto28.6%in1995.Inparticular,theexportsofNorthernAfrica(excludingSudan)increasedslightlyoverthepe-riod 1995-2000, as theymade up 0.8% of theworldexportscomparedto0.7%in1995,whiletheshareofimportsofNorthernAfrica(excludingSudan)decreased

overtheperiod1995-2000from0.9%in1995to0.7%in2000.

Inaddition,worldexportsregisteredamild increaseof0.44% over the period 2000-2002, followed by largeannual increasesof16.29%and21.79% in2003and2004.However, the volumeofworldexportsdroppedsignificantlyin2005toregisteranannualgrowthrateof13.89%,whichthenincreasedto14.77%inthefollow-ingyear.Asforworldimports,theperiod2000-2002wit-

nessedanegativegrowthrateof-0.02%,tobefollowedalsobylargepositiveannualgrowthratesof16.5%and22.11%inthetwofollowingyears.However,2005wit-nessed a drop in the volume ofworld imports,whichregistered an annual growth rate of 13.4%,which in-creasedslightlyinthefollowingyeartoregister13.92%.Table6givesanoverviewof the improvementofworldexportsandimportsovertheperiod2000-2006.

Table6:WorldExportandImportStatisticsinselectedyears

Source:UNCTAD,HandbookofStatistics2006-2007.

2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

(MillionUSD) Exports Imports Exports Imports Exports Imports Exports Imports Exports Imports Exports Imports

World 6444106 6642126 6472603 6640572 7526945 7735944 9167120 9446634 10440780 10712215 11982932 12203386

Developed Countries

4229833 4617741 4237872 4574707 4884506 5304555 5761155 6309661 6291932 7035695 7085021 7913821

Developing Countries

2044590 1904395 2052444 1911101 2410557 2232262 3090696 2877627 3750526 3359059 4408951 3915401

Economies in Transition

169683 119990 182287 154764 231882 199127 315269 259345 398322 317462 488960 374164

Annual Change of World Trade

n.a. n.a. 0.44% -0.02% 16.29% 16.50% 21.79% 22.11% 13.89% 13.40% 14.77% 13.92%

1 5


MainExportsandImportsofGoodsandProducts

Datafortheperiod1997-2006showthatoilremainsthemajorcommodityexport-edbytheArabworld.Althoughitsshareof total exports declined from 70% in1997to55.3%in1998,itthenincreasedinthefollowingtwoyears,onlytodeclineagain to 68.2% in 2001.However, duetopriceinflation,thevalueofoilexportsincreasedasof2003toreach76.6%oftotalArabexportsin2006.

Thesecondmajorcommodityexportedis manufacturers, whose share of totalgoodsexportedalsofluctuatedthrough-outtheperiod1997-1999tobefollowedby a declining trend over the remain-

ingyearsuntil2006,where it registered11.8%oftotalgoodsexported.

Exports of chemicals followed a similarpattern, as their share of total exportsfluctuatedovertheperiod1997-2001,tobefollowedbyadeclineuntilyear2006,whereitreached3.1%oftotalexports.

Itisworthmentioninghowever,thatthedecline in theshareofexportsofcom-modities compared to total goods de-clinedasof2003mainlydue to the in-creaseinthevalueoftheshareofexportsofoil,whichinturnisduetotheincreasein the prices of oil in the internationalmarket.Graph1shows thedistributionofArabexportsaccordingtocommodityfortheyear2006.

Graph1:DistributionofMajorArabExportsaccordingtoCommodity,2006


As for commodity imports, machineryand transportation equipment remainthemajorcommodities importedbytheArabworld,astheirshareoftotalimportsincreased throughout the period 1997-2006,despitethesmalldeclineinyears2002and2005.

Imports ofmanufacturers come in sec-

ondplaceintheirshareoftotalimports,followedby importsof foodandbever-ages.ItisimportanttonotethattheArabworldisanetimporteroffood,forstruc-turalreasonsrelatedtotheweakagricul-tural policies in the Arab world. Graph2 shows thedistributionofmajor com-modityimportsoftheArabworldfortheyear2006.

Graph2:DistributionofMajorArabImportsaccordingtoCommodity,2006

Source:UnifiedArabEconomicReport2007.

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Exports!

Food stuff & Beverages!

Raw Material!

Hydrocarbons!

Chemical Products!

Machinary & Transport

Equipment!

Manufacturers!

Other commodities!

Source:UnifiedArabEconomicReport2007.

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11%!5%!

8%!

8%!

37%!

28%!

3%!

Imports!

Food stuff & Beverages!

Raw Material!

Hydrocarbons!

Chemical Products!

Machinary & Transport

Equipment!

Manufacturers!

Other commodities!

1 6

RegionalGDPcomparedtoWorldGDPover1995-2005and2006

Accordingtotheavailabledata,thegrossGDPoftheArabworldincreasedbyaround42.68%overtheperiod1995-2000.Yetitregisteredanegativegrowthrateof-0.77%overtheperiod2000-2002,whichwasfollowedbypositiveannualgrowthratesinthefollowingthreeyears,registering9.7%and18.81%and22.06%respectively.ItshouldbenotedthatthecontemporaryincreaseinpricelevelsplaysaroleinamplifyingthevalueoftheGDPofmanyArabcountries,astheybenefitfromtheincreaseinvalueoftheirexports,particularlyoil,toinvestineconomicgrowthstimulatingsectorsandfields.Table7showstheGDPoftheArabcountriesinselectedyears.

YettheratioofgrossArabGDPtoworldGDPovertheperiodstudiedremainsverylow,asitscoreditsmaximumlevelofaround2.41%in2005.

Table7:GDPoftheWorldandArabCountriesinselectedyears(MillionUSD)

Year/ Country 1995 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005

Algeria 42066 54790 56948 68017 85021 102257

Bahrain 5848 7971 8447 9699 11013 13348

Comoros 232 204 247 318 368 380

Djibouti 510 553 592 625 664 705

Egypt 68853 99601 90064 77109 84019 101406Iraq 6187 20969 17437 10621 27366 33379Jordan 6732 8461 9561 10161 11515 12535

Kuwait 26554 37718 38119 46200 55718 74214

Lebanon 10965 16679 18462 19396 20856 21184Libya 25540 34265 19131 23273 28025 37173

Mauritania 1058 928 983 1180 1351 1672

Morocco 32985 33335 36094 43813 50031 51461Oman 13803 19868 20325 21784 24778 30269Palestinian territory 3220 4116 3484 3921 4068 4179Qatar 8138 17760 19707 23701 31591 42113Saudi Arabia 127641 188442 188551 214573 250558 314021

Somalia 1122 2070 2056 2100 2213 2182

Sudan 13950 11549 14718 16108 19040 24667

Syria 13538 19651 21659 20724 23318 25812

Tunisia 18030 19444 21016 24955 28134 29049

UAE 42807 70522 74959 88536 104204 133757Yemen 5789 9652 10787 11870 13811 15508Total Arab GDP 475568 678548 673347 738684 877662 1071271World 29556282 31678619 32717346 36756087 41278164 44475204ArabGDP/WorldGDP 1.609025 2.141975 2.058073 2.009692 2.126214 2.408693


1 7


RoadTransport

R o a d Tr a n s p o r t

Before1989, theworldwasdividedmainly into twoblocs:WesterncountrieswithmarketeconomiesandEasterncountries,includingChina,withplannedeconomies.Therewasthereforenoglobaleconomicpolicy.SincetheendoftheColdWar,economicdevelopmenthasbeendrivenbyglobalisa-tionandwehaveaglobalviewof thefuture. If themaineffectofglobalisation inaliberalisedeconomyistoundertakeresearch,toproducethebestproductsandtotradeunderthebestpossiblesocial,economicandfiscalconditions,weshouldalsorecognisethatthemarketisglobalforeveryoneandthattheeconomicdrivingforcewillalsoseekoptimallocalisationforitsbusinessactivities.Thisglobalisationprocess–togetherwiththeenormousdifferencesbetweenalltheseliberalisednationaleconomieswithregardtoknowledge,theavailabilityofrawmateri-alsandsocialcosts–willleadtoadramaticincreasenotonlyintradeandtransportbutalsoinspecificcustomerdemandandcompetition.

Infact,thepioneeringspiritoftheIRU’shistoricSilkRoadCaravanandNewEurasianLandTransport Initiative (NELTI)Projectdemonstratesclearly that road transport isalwaysatthedisposalofeveryone,everywhere,tounitepeopleandtobetterdistrib-utewealth;consequently, road transportneeds tobe facilitated.With this, inmindGovernmentsmustimproveknowledge,shareexperienceandimplementthenumer-ousUNmultilateralagreements,conventionsandotherregionallegalinstrumentsde-velopedinthelast60years,tofacilitateroadtransportandtradeeverywherebutinparticularintheMiddleEastregion,whichisacradleofcivilisations,ameltingpointofdifferentculturesandamajoralternativetraderouteforinternationaltransittrafficbetweenEastandWest.In2008,theWorldBankpreparedareportontheBenefitsofTransitTraffictoTransitCountrieswithintheframeworkofaknowledgeactivityontransitfacilitationforland-lockeddevelopingcountries(LLDCs).

1 8 RoadTransport

The report classifies these benefits as follows:

1. TransportBenefits Benefitsfromtransitvehicles Roadinfrastructure Transit fees Railbenefits Forwarding/Clearingservices2. Benefitstoport-relatedIndustries3. TradeBenefits4. PoliticalandEconomicLeverage

Thereportconcludesthatbenefitsfromtransittrafficaremuchmorevisibleforcoastalcountries,whichcanprovidebothportandinlandtransportservices.However,italsohighlightsthatthedevelopmentoftransitroutesforthird-countrytransittrafficwouldincreasethelevelofconnectivityofallcountriesinvolvedinatransitcorridor,andthisprovidesbetteraccessfortheirowntraffic.

Therefore,withitsexistingsophisticatedportservicesandinvaluablegeographicalpositionland-linkingtheArabSeawiththeMediterraneanSea,theMiddleEastregioncanbetterenjoythebenefitsofglobalisationifroadtransportispromotedandcross-bordermovementsofgoodsandpassengersarefacilitatedbyallcountriesoftheregioninacoordinatedmanner.

1 9


MiddleEastNeedsRoadTransport

To distribute wealth:Inalldevelopedeconomies,roadtransportisthemainmodeoftransportthatservestheeconomy.For instance, inEurope,truckscarry70%ofthetotalvolumeand90%ofthetotalvalueofgoods.Busesandcoachesoffertheirclientsthesamebenefitsandcomfortastheytravelinaprivatecar.Coachtourismrepresentsabout2%ofGDPinEurope.

Inaglobalisedeconomyroadtransporthasbecomeavitalproductiontoolandassuchit isthebesttoolforregionaldevelopmentthankstoitsflexibilityandsuperiorqualityofservice (punctuality, tailor-maderesponseandcompetitiveprices). More-over, road transport is the onlymode that can interconnect every business, everycountry,everyregiontoeverymajorworldeconomy.

Road transport is thepartnerofagricultural, industrialandcommercialbusinesses,whosetransportand logisticalneedsaresatisfied,thanksto itsmodern, innovativeservices(just-in-time,storage,andtheprovisionofwell-maintainedfleetsforregionalandlocaldistributionoffinishedandsemi-finishedgoods).

To create employment:Roadtransporthasalwaysdeliveredgoodgrowthperfor-mancesbutitisoftenperceivedthroughtheimageofitsdrivers,inparticularof“long-distance”drivers.Yetthisisasimplisticassessment.Theindustryprovidesjobsforall:coachdrivers,taxidriversandlorrydriversfordistributionorlong-distancetransport,driversofrefrigeratedtrucksandtankers,butalsoformaintenancetechnicians,logis-ticsandcomputerexperts,commercialrepresentativesandmanagers!Moreover,withoutroadtransport, therewillbenoeconomy,notradeandnoGDP.Therefore,nojobs!

To achieve sustainable development:Sustainabledevelopmenthasbeenbroadlydefinedasmeetingtheneedsofthepresentwithoutcompromisingtheabilityoffuturegenerationstomeettheirownneeds.However,tomeetmobilityneeds,everytrans-portmodehasaneffectontheenvironmentanditisthedutyofgovernmentsandtheprivatesectortominimisethiseffect.Themainobjectiveofanytransportmodeistoensurethemobilityofpersonsandgoodsinthemostefficientmannerandcomparedtoequivalentdoor-to-doortransportservices,roadtransportisregularlythemostef-ficienttransportmode.

In the current globalisation of the economy, road transport is not only a transportmode,butisaboveallavitalproductiontooltoensurecompetitivenessinthesustain-ableeconomicand tradedevelopmentofeachcountry.Thechallenge,byworkingtogetherwithgovernments, istomakeanytransportmoreefficientandcompatiblewiththeaimsofsustainabledevelopment.SustainabledevelopmentisapriorityissuefortheIRUandtheroadtransportsector.

TheIRUhasadoptedandimplementedtheIRU’s3“i”strategy,basedonInnovation,IncentivesandInfrastructure,asthemostcost-effectivemeanstoensuresustainabledevelopment.Itisbasedonthisstrategythattheroadtransportindustryhasinvestedheavily in vehicles presenting the cleanest emission standards and the latest fuel-efficientvehicletechnology.

RoadTransport

2 0 RoadTransport

ByapplyingtheIRU’s3“i”strategyalreadytoday:

•onesinglevehiclebuiltbefore1980makesmorenoisethan25moderntrucks•toxicemissionsfrombuses,coachesandlorrieshavebeenreducedbyupto97%since1990•fuelconsumptionandthusCO2emissionshavebeenreducedby36%in30yearssince1970andbyanother20%since1980•Itisexpectedthatemissionswillbereducedbyanother30%by2015

TheIRU’s3“i”strategywasevenendorsedbytheUnitedNationsEnvironmentProgramme(UNEP)andrecommendedtobeemulatedbyotherindustrygroups.However,today,governmentsstillhavetotaketheappropriateactionstopromotesustainabledevelopment.GovernmentsshouldmeettheirobligationsconcerningAgenda21by:

•Promotinginnovative,cleanandenergy-efficientcommercialvehiclesthroughappropriateincentives,asrequestedbytheIRUformanyyears•Adaptingroadinfrastructureandbottleneckstotrafficdemands•Maintainingafreechoiceoftransportmodeanditinerarytoensurethemostefficientmobilityofpersonsandgoods.

To develop the Middle East transport system:Roadtransportofbothpassengersandgoodshastheexceptionaladvantageofprovidingaunimodalserviceandactingasapartnerforallothermodes(rail,maritimeandairtransport),handling,collectionanddelivingservicesforthem.

TheIRUanditsMemberAssociationshavealwaysbeeninfavourofcombinedtransportforcapacityreasonsandthedevelopmentofcombinedtransportisalsoaneces-sityintheMiddleEastregion.

Inordertomakecombinedtransportaviablesolution,operational,infrastructurerelatedandmanagementproblemsneedtobeaddressed.Specifically,Hinterlandconnec-tionsandcost-effectiveandfastpermittinghorizontaltransfersneedtobeestablished.

2 1


R o a d Tr a n s p o r tI n f r a s t r u c t u re a n d C a p a c i t yU t i l i s a t i o n ThedemandforroadtransportintheArabworldremainshighmainlyduetothehigh-standardroadinfrastructureintheregion,thelowcostoffuelinsomeArabcountries,theabsenceofsignificantfeesforroadtransportandtheinsufficiencyoftheexistingrailwaynetworktocopewiththedemandforlandtransport.

Thedensityofnationalroads,pavedroadsinparticular,islowintheArabworldascomparedtomoreadvancedeconomies,duetotheoverwhelmingdesertareasintheArabworld. It isalso important tonotice that road infrastructure in the regionvaries between low and high income countries. Table 8 compares the lengths ofroadwaysindifferentArabcountries.

RoadTransport

Table8:LengthsofRoadwaysinDifferentArabCountries.

Rank Country Roadways

(km) Date of Information

1 World 68,937,575 2008

26 Saudi Arabia 221,372 2006

40 Algeria 108,302 2004

43 Libya 100,024 2003

45 Syria 97,401 2006

54 Egypt 92,370 2004

67 Yemen 71,300 2005

78 Morocco 57,625 2006

83 Iraq 44,900 2002

87 Oman 42,300 2005

108 Somalia 22,100 2000

114 Tunisia 19,232 2004

135 Sudan 11,900 2000

137 Mauritania 11,066 2006

144 Qatar 7,790 2006

146 Jordan 7,694 2006

150 Lebanon 6,970 2005

152 Kuwait 5,749 2004

155 West Bank 5,147 2006

158 United Arab Emirates 4,080 2008

163 Bahrain 3,498 2003

167 Djibouti 3,065 2000

187 Comoros 880 2002

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2 2

Despitecontinuousefforts toupgrade,moderniseandexpandthesizeoftheroadnetworkinmostArabcoun-tries, the roadnetworksuffers frompoormaintenanceand does not accommodate the needs of a moderneconomyandefficient land transport,especially in thepoorerArabcountries.

Effortsarealsobeingmade todevelopnewroadnet-works in order to connect remote areas to cities andmajoreconomicareasand tofindsolutions to theex-tensivecongestionsinmajorcitiesandcapitalsofmanyArabstates,suchasthecitiesofTunisia,Dubai,Cairo,Beirut,etc.Sucheffortsalsoincludebuildingnewroads,bridges,overandunderpasses,etc.

Intermsofphysicalcapacity,theroadnetworkprovidestheprimarymeansforpassengerandgoodstransporta-tionwithinArabstates.

TheexistingsituationinsomeArabstatesisasfollows:

Egypt: 85%of domestic freight and 60%of passen-germovementiscarriedoutbyroad.Bymid-2006,theroadsnetworkexpandedto81,932kmofpavedroads.

Iraq: the roadnetwork is about39,000km;however,thevastdestructionof the roadnetwork in the recentyearshaveleftonly2,000kmofitingoodcondition,ofwhichonly2,000kmismotorway.

Kuwait: the road network is developed continuously,andcoversaround4,967km.

Yemen:datafortheyear2004showthataround10,500kmofitsroadnetworkareasphaltedandaround13,500kmaregraded.

Morocco:theruralnetworkisbeingextendedyearlybyaround1,500km;however,only50%oftheruralpopu-lationcancurrentlyaccesstheroadsallyearround.

Qatar:datafor2005showthatthetotal lengthofthepavedandunpavednetworkis7,760km.

Sudan:recentdatashowthatthetotalroadnetworkisaround20,000–25,000kmlong,butapart frompavedroadsinruralareas,onlyabout3,000–3,500kmareas-phaltall-weather roads.About1,200kmaremadeupofSudan’skeyhighwaywhichlinksPortSudantoKhar-

toum. This highway, howeverwasbuilt back in 1980.The road infrastructure inSudanalso includesanum-berofnewbridgesovertheNileRiverwhichhavebeenbuiltoverthepastfiveyears,andwhicharemostlycon-centratedinKhartoum.AnewbridgeovertheNilewasopenedatMarowein2007.

Tunisia: 20,000kmof thenetworkcomposedofpri-maryandsecondaryroads,whicharemostlypavedandreasonably maintained but despite the substantial in-vestments,thecongestioninthecityofTunisiaremainsa serious problem. The Tunisian Government is con-structinganew160kmmotorway–includinga100kmsectionconnectingM’SakenandSafx–asthecountrytodayhaslessthan300kmofaccessiblemodernmo-torways.

Untied Arab Emirates:hasconstructedanextensivehighqualityroadnetwork.Moreover,majorinvestmentsaretakingplaceinpooreremiratestoupgradethesta-tusof their roadnetwork.However,severecongestionin Dubai, especially during rush hours, is becoming aseriousproblem.

RoadTransport

2 3


Main Internat ional RoadTransport Corr idors

M5 Zakho(Turkey)–Mosul–Baghdad–Al-Samawah–Basrah–

Kuwait–AbuHadriyah–Damman–ManamaORHufuf–Salwah–Bathaá–

Al-Ghweifat–AbuDhabi–Dubai–Fujaira–Sohar–Muscat–Nizwa–Thumrayt

M7 and M9 AbuDhabi–Mazyad–Nizwa

M10 HajjOmar–Irbil–Mosul–Rabieyyah–Yaaroubia–Kamishli–Aleppo–Ariha–Lattakia

M15 Aleppo–DeirEz-Zor–Ramadi

M20 Kamishli–Hasaka–DeirEz-Zor–Homs–Tartous

M25 AbuHadriyah–HafarEl-Batin–Arár–Hadithat–Al-Azraq

M30 Beirut–Damascus–Al-Rutbah

M35 Amman–Al-Azraq–Sakakah–Haíl–Buraydah–Riyadh–Al-Kharj

M40 Baghdad–Ramadi–Al-Rutbah–Al-Azraq–Jerusalem–Gaza–Arish–KantaraBridge–PortSaid–Demiata–Alexandria–Salum

M45 Taízz–Sanaá–Baqim–Elb–Abha–Mecca–Medina–Qalibah–Tabuk–

Al-Mudawara–Maán–Amman–Damascus–Homs–Aleppo–BabAl-Hawa–Turkey.

M50 Baghdad–Karbala–Al-Nukhaib–ArárSakaka–Qalibah–Tabuk–HalatAmmar–Ad-Durra–Aqaba–Nakhel–Shatt–Suez–Cairo

M51 Kassab–Lattakia–Tartous–Tripoli–Beirut–Naqoura

M55 Al-Mukha–Hodeidah–Harad–Al-Tuwal–Darb–Jeddah–Rabigh–Yanbu–Dhuha–Ad-Durra–Aqaba–Nuweiba–Nakhel–Arish

M65 Ismailia–Suez–Hurdagha–Safaga–Halayeb.

M67 Ismailia–Cairo

M70 Kuwait–HafarEl-Batin–Artawiyah–Buraydah–Medina–Yanbu.

M75 Ismailia–Cairo–Qena–Luxor–Arqin

M80 Manama–Dammam–Riyadh–Mecca

M90 Doha–AbuSamra–Salwah–Bathaá–Harad–Al-Kharj–Sulayyil–Abha–Darb

M100 Thumrayt–Gheizah–Al-Mukalla–Aden–Taízz–Al-Mukha

RoadTransport

Note that Morocco is now building a new land transport route of international importance, with a length of 328 km, between the cities of Fass and Wajdah. This is expected to be opened to traffic by mid-

2010. This route will then be part of the network of roads of international importance which connect Nuwaqshot, the capital of Mauritania, with the city of Tubruq in Libya, thus passing through the main cities

of the Arab Maghreb, hence allowing Morocco to play a major role as a centre of transportation and transit within the Arab Maghreb region and between Southern Europe and Northern Africa.

2 4

Numberof RoadMotorVehic les

Table9showsthetotalnumberofroadmotorvehiclesinselectedArabcountriesduringtheperiod2001–2006.

RoadTransport

Country Type of vehicle 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Bahrain

Totalmotorvehicles 247,280 268,991 - - -

Passengercars 205,089 223,266 - - -

Trucks&pickups 35,437 38,650 - - -

Buses 6,754 7,075 - - -

Egypt

Totalmotorvehicles - 2,564,511* - - 2,898,189

Passengercars - 1,878,712* - - 2,095,316

Trucks&pick-ups - 623,681* - - 730,155

Buses - 62,118* - - 72,718

Iraq

Totalmotorvehicles - - - - -

Passengercars 703,857 711,981 - - -

Trucks&pickups - - - - -

Buses 56,034 57,757 - - -

Table9:RoadMotorVehiclesinSelectedArabCountries

2 5


Table-8:RoadMotorVehiclesinSelectedArabCountries


Palestine


Passengercars 69,892 77,291 - - -

Trucks&pick-ups 22,107 27,110 - - -

Buses 831 1,078 - - -

Qatar

Totalmotorvehicles 339,878 356,484 390,153 - -

Passengercars 230,155 242,279 267,849 - -

Trucks&pick-ups 107,754* 112,231* 120,306 - -

Buses 1,969 1,974 1,998 - -

Saudi Arabia

Totalmotorvehicles 9,009,111 9,484,891 - - -

Passengercars - - - - -Trucks&pick-ups - - - - -

Buses - - - - -


Jordan

Totalmotorvehicles 434,166 442,951 496,856 548,125 -

Passengercars 309,636 317,983 348,111 386,992 -

Trucks&pick-ups 122,970 123,546 147,147 159,295 -

Buses 1,560 1,422 1,598 1,838 -

Kuwait

Totalmotorvehicles 898,280 934,912 1,020,809 1,109,985 -

Passengercars 756,312 780,622 848,590 918,555 -

Trucks&pick-ups 129,605 140,411 156,848 173,417 -

Buses 12,363 13,879 15,371 18,013 -

Oman

Totalmotorvehicles 554,866 440,523 - - -Passengercars 389,971 324,085 - - -

Trucks&pick-ups 140,270 109,118 - - -

Buses 24,625 7,320 - - -


RoadTransport

2 6


Syria

Totalmotorvehicles 594,625 635,693 674,382 - -

Passengercars 181,017 206,130 232,803 - -

Trucks&pick-ups 367,048 382,179 393,638 - -

Buses 46,560 47,384 47,941 - -

United Arab

Emirates


Passengercars 606,103 684,092 - - -

Trucks&pick-ups 66,190 74,211 - - -

Buses 16,048 18,754 - - -

Yemen

Totalmotorvehicles 964,827 982,066 1,033,842 - -Passengercars 367,828 375,758 403,293 - -

Trucks&pick-ups 480,173 486,832 491,139 - -

Buses 116,826 119,476 139,410 - -


Algeria**Vehicles - - - 91,000 -

Passenger

cars- - - 58,000 -

Libya**

Vehicles - - - 257,000 -

Passenger

cars- - - 232,000 -

Morocco**

Vehicles - 59,000 - - -

Passenger

cars- 46,000 - - -

Tunisia**Vehicles - - 95,000 - -

Passenger

cars- - 83,000 - -

Source:ESCWA.StatisticalAbstractoftheESCWARegion. WorldBankwebsite.

*ESCWAestimates.**Latestdataavailable.


RoadTransport

2 7


Theissueofroadsafetyhasbecomeofanincreasingcon-cerntothecivilsocietiesandgovernmentsoftheArabworld,duetothehighleveloffatalaccidentsoccurringeverydayandthehighphysicalandhumancostsassociated.Hence,theroadanddrivingauthoritiesintheArabcountrieshaveput greater emphasis onpromoting road safety, in termsofroadsconditions,vehicleconditions,drivingregulationsandmeasurementstobeadoptedbydrivers.

ManyeffortsarebeingundertakeninvariousArabcountriestopromoteroadsafetyandtopreventroadcrashfatalitiesandinjuries.Partnershipsbetweentheprivateandthepub-licsectors,aswellasNGOsandUNagenciesparticipateindevelopingprogrammestopromotegoodpracticesinthemanagementofroadsafety.However,availabledatashow

that roadcasualties, in termsof injuriesand fatalities,arestill dangerously high in theArabworld. TheWorldBankshowsthattheproportionofhealthy life-years lostduetoroaddeathsandinjuriesscored5%fortheMENAregionin2002,andisexpectedtoincreaseto8%in2030.Ingen-eral, theMENAregion ranked3rdworld-wide in termsofroaddeathsandinjuriesascauseofhealthylife-yearslost,andisforecastedtorankthe1stworld-widebythe2030.Thesefiguresarealsoconfirmedby theWorldReportonRoad Traffic InjuryPrevention 2004, by theWorldHealthOrganisation.However,thesefiguresarerathergeneralandnotmuchisknownaboutaccidentsinvolvingheavygoodsvehicles.

RoadSafety in theMiddleEastRegion

RoadTransport

2 8

!

RoadTransport

TheIRUandRoadSafetyintheMiddleEast

RoadsafetyhasalwaysbeenahighestpriorityfortheIRUanditsMemberAssocia-tionsandforrealprofessionals,eachaccidentisoneaccidenttoomany.Today,regret-tably,roadsafetyisstillnotthepriorityofgovernments.

Thisisprovenbythefollowingfacts:

• Almostnogovernmentcanproducestatisticsdemonstratingthecausalityofcommercialvehiclesinroadaccidents.• While governments are keen to implement new training obligations, notenoughgovernmentsaredevelopingtrueandefficientpublic-privatepartnershipswithIRUAcademyAccreditedTrainingInstitutes(ATIs)toimprovevocationaltrainingandtoprovidenationalandinternationalrecognitionofsuchtraining.

Thisiswhy,toincreaseroadsafety,theIRUhasdevelopedthefollowingactions:

• The IRU AcademyTheIRUAcademyhastheaimofharmonisingvocationaltrainingstandardsandpro-vidingonlineunfalsifiableinternationalrecognitionoftraining.Infact,theIRUAcademyprovides,inmorethan30countries:

->CPC for road transportmanagers,drivers,ADRdrivers;networkofaccreditedtraininginstitutes;individualstudentdiplomastraceableoninternet;internationalrec-ognition(EU,ITF,UNECE,WorldBank,Unions,etc.)ofstandards.

• The European Commission/IRU Scientific European Truck Accident Causation Study (ETAC)TheEuropeanCommission(EC)andtheIRUlaunchedauniquescientificstudy,theEuropeanTruckAccidentCausation(ETAC)study.Knowingthattherearemanyfac-torswhichcontributetoanaccidentandknowingthatthosefactorsareinterlinked,theaimofthestudywastoidentifythemaincauseswhichhavemadethegreatestcontributiontothefactthatanaccidenthappened.

Theresultsofthestudywereestablishedinascientific,unbiased,independentman-nerwhichenabled the identificationof truckaccidentcausation.Theadvantageoftheaccidentdatacollectionisthatthestudyfocusesontruckaccidentsandallowsindepthaccidentinvestigation,usingthesamemethodologyanddatacodificationinanycountry.

TheresultsoftheETACstudyshowedthatthemainaccidentcausein85.2%ofcaseswaslinkedtoahumanerrorofoneoftheroadparticipants(truckdriver,cardriver,pedestriansetc.).However,of theaccidents linked tohumanerror,only25%werecausedby truckdrivers.Other factorssuchasweatherconditions (4.4%ofcases),infrastructureconditions(5.1%)ortechnicalfailuresofvehicles(5.3%)playedonlyaminorrole.Graph3belowshowsthepercentageofmaincausesforallroadusers.

TheMiddleEastregionalsosuffersfromalackofcommercialvehicle-specificroadsafetydata.Therefore,theneedtoconductasimilartruckaccidentcausationstudyintheregionisobvious.ThemethodologyandthenecessarydatacodificationsystemhavealreadybeendevelopedandmadeavailablebytheIRUtointerestedpartiesandcouldbemodifiedtobetterfittheconditionsoftheMiddleEastregion.TheexistingmethodologycouldbeusedtoconductaMiddleEastTruckAccidentCausationstudytoenhancetheeffortstoreducthenumberandseverityofacci-dentsinvolvingcommercialvehiclesintheregion.

Graph3:Maincausesofaccidentsforallroadusers

2 9


RoadTransport Tra in ing in theMiddleEastRegion

GiventherisingimportanceoftheefficiencyoftransportinpromotingtradewithintheArabworldandwiththeexternalworld,andtherealisationofthesignificanceofthecostoftransportasapartofthetotalcostoftrade,whereitrangesbetween10%-20%ofthefinalcostofgoodsindevelopedcountriesascomparedto80%-120%indevelopingcountries,wavesofmodernisationanddevelopmenthavebeentakingplaceinthetransportindustryintheareasofadministration,logistics,safety,opera-tions,etc.Thusithasbecomeessentialthatthehumanresourcesandpersonnelworkinginthetransportindustrybecomeacquaintedwiththenewtrendsinmanagingandoperatingtransport,whetherbyland,airorsea.ThisaspectgainsmoresignificanceintheArabworld,especiallyinthelightoffinalisingtheadoptionofthe“Agree-mentonMultimodalTransportofGoodsamongArabCountries”,wheremorethanoneentityisengagedinasingletransporttransaction.

Therefore,providingthenecessaryskillstothehumanresourcesandpersonnelworkinginthetransportindustrybyconductingtrainingprogrammesandcoursesatnationalandregionallevelsintheArabworldisgainingmoresignificance.

Withinthiscontext,entitiesspecialisedindifferentmodesoftransport,suchastransportschools,unionsandfederationsatthenationalandregionallevelintheArabworldfocusonprovidingtheirmemberswiththenecessaryup-to-datetrainingprogrammesandcoursesinvariousfieldsofactivitiesrelatedtotransport;somealsoprovidecustom-madetrainingcourses.Notethatsuchtrainingprogramsmainlytargetinternationaltransportofgoodsbyland,airormaritime,whilelocaltransportationofpassengersdoesnotrequiretrainingasapre-conditionbutratherrequiresdriverstoacquiretheappropriatedrivinglicence.

TrainingforroadtransportcurrentlylackstheexistenceofaregionalentitywhichprovidestrainingformembersfromthewholeArabworld.TheArabUnionofLandTransport(AULT),theInternationalRoadTransportUnion(IRU)andtheRoyalAutomobileClubofJordan(RACJ)areestablishingsucharegionaltrainingcentre.Withinthiscontext,theIRUandtheAULTsignedaMemorandumofUnderstandingfocusedprimarilyonimprovingprofessionalroadtransporttrainingintheArabcountriesthroughtheIRUAcademyinFebruary2007.Itwasequallyagreedtocooperateonachievinggoalscommontotheorganisations,suchasreducingborderwaitingtimesandallowingtheregiontobenefitfullyfromtradeandtransportfacilitationaswellasthesecurityadvantagesoftheTIRSystem.FollowingthisMoUAULTsignedanotherMemorandumofUnderstandingwiththeRACJondevelopingjointly,throughtheIRUAcademy,roadtransportprofessionaltrainingcoursesfortransportoperatorsanddriversinArabcountries.FollowingthetwoMoUstheAULTandtheeducationalarmoftheIRU,theIRUAcademy,stagedajointSeminartopromoteprofessionaltrain-ingintheMiddleEastandregion.Thisseminarwasthefirststepinthecompletionofacooperationagreementbetweenthetwoorganisations,whichwillincludetheestablishmentbytheAULTofanIRUAcademyAccreditedTrainingInstitute(ATI)inAmman,inpartnershipwiththeRACJ.

RoadTransport

3 0 RoadTransport

The IRU Academy uses learning and development to improve road safety through its educational arm, the IRU Academy

RecentsustainedgrowthintheMiddleEastregionhasplacedanincreaseddemandonthetransportsector,andalthoughthiseconomicgrowthiswithoutadoubtahighlypositivedevelopment,deliveringresultswhilstmeetingthestringentbusinessobjectivesinanevermoreglobalmarketplacechallengestheroadtransportindustrytotransformandadapt.

Roadsafetyregulationsandambitioustargetstoreduceaccidentsandcasualtiesareapriorityandanobligationforallactorsintheindustry:newvehiclesarebeingdesignedfollowingstrictsecuritystandards,drivingandresttimerulesaregraduallybeingenforcedandinnovativetechnologiesarelaunchedinordertoensurecompliance.

Itfollowsthatroadtransportoperatorsanddriversarerequiredtobebothcompliantwiththeregulationsandtodeliverthenecessaryresultstoensureacompetitiveadvantageovercompaniesactiveinlocalandinternationalmarkets.Appropriateprofessionaltrainingisessentialtobuildingupthenecessaryskilllevelsandensuringlong-termsuccess.

However,roadtransportcompaniesseekingeffectivetrainingsolutionsoftenfacearegrettablelackofstandardisationandtransparencyinavailableoffersatatimewhentrainingiscrucial.

TheIRUAcademy,asanindependententitywithaglobalreach,isuniquelyplacedtodrivetheharmonisationoftrainingstandards,incorporateinternationalbestpracticesandverifycompliancewithinternationalregulationsandothernationallegislativeinstruments.

ParticipantswhofollowtheIRUAcademyprogrammesthroughAccreditedTrainingInstitutes(ATIs)notonlybenefitfromhigh-quality,stateoftheartIRUAcademyprofessionaltraining,butcandidateswhoachievetheprogrammes,objectivesreceiveinternationalrecognition.

Unfortunately,withtheincreasedcostsofprofessionaltraining,diplomafalsificationisarealitywecannotignore,andtheIRUAcademyhasmodernITtoolstopreventsuchfraudulentactivitythroughitswebsite.TheIRUAcademywebsitealsoprovidesavaluablemarketingtoolforAccreditedTrainingInstitutes(ATIs)throughwhichtheycanadvertisetheirlearningevents.Similarly,studentscanenhancetheirvisibilityandmarketthemselvesortheircompanythroughdedicatedwebpages.

Initsmissiontoimprovesafetyandincreasethelevelofcompetenceintheroadtransportsector,theIRUAcademyofferstopotentialstudentsandtraininginstitutesaCertificateofProfessionalCompetence(CPC)Managerprogramme,andhasalsorecentlylaunchedthreenewinternationalprogrammes:

•TheADRprogrammewhichisaimedattransportersofDangerousGoodsbyroad•TheTachographprogramme•TheCPCDriverProgramme

3 1


RoadTransport

Logist icsPerformanceof Countr ies in theMiddleEastRegion

In2007,theWorldBankpublishedareportonTradeLogisticsintheGlobalEconomy,whichaimedtounderstandhowdifferentcountriesareperformingintheareaoftradelogistics,andwhattheyshoulddotoimprovetheirperformance.Inthisconnection,thereportpresentedtheLogisticsPerformanceIndex(LPI),whichwasbasedonauniquedatasettomeasurecountryperformanceacrossseveraldimensionsoflogis-ticsandtobenchmarkthatlogisticsperformanceagainst150countries.TherankingofcertainMiddleEastcountriesinthisreportisgiveninTable10below:

Thistable indicatesthatthe logisticsperformancesofcountries intheMiddleEastregiondiffersignificantly.Indeed, from theperspectiveof global trade flowsandopportunities for develop-ingalternativetraderoutes,thispresentsamajorconcernandafundamentalissuewhichshouldbeaddressedbythecountriesoftheregion,collectively.

Country LPI Rank ScoreUnited Arab Emirates 20 3.73Bahrain 36 3.15Saudi Arabia 41 3.02Kuwait 44 2.99Qatar 46 2.98Oman 48 2.92Jordan 52 2.89Egypt 97 2.37Lebanon 98 2.37Yemen 112 2.29Syria 135 2.09

In2007,AULTconductedaregionalstudytoidentifythemainproblemsandbarriersthattheArabfleetoperatorsfaceintheMiddleEastregion.TheAULTstudyshowedthattheroadtransportindustrysuffersfromvariousprob-lems,someofwhichmustbeaddressedbytheauthoritiesasapriorityandsomewhichcouldbesolvedbythefleetoperatorsthemselves.Themajorproblems,whichmustbedealtwithbytheauthorities,include:

a: Lack of harmonised custom controls: It isnatural thatcustomsauthoritiescontrolthegoodsandvehiclesusedforinternationalroadtransport.However,intheMiddleEastregion,thecustomscontrolsatbordersarenotharmonised,ingeneral.Itisnotuncommonthatthegoodsareunloadedfromthevehiclesduringsuchcontrolsatborders,whichmayleadtocargodamages.Vehiclesareoccasionallyexaminedbynon-technicianprofessionals,whoseinterventionsmayleadtotechnicalproblemsduringrestofthejourney.

b: Lack of harmonised regulations and procedures:Thelawsandregulationsrelatedtovehiclestandards,weightsanddimensionsvarybetweenArabcountries.Thisleadstoadditionalwaitingtimesandsometimespenalties.Feetoperatorsarerequested to present toomany documents at borders, of whichmany could beavoidedorareirrelevanttotransportservice.Thisunnecessarypaperworkneedstobeeliminatedbyappropriatecomputerisationofprocedures.

c: Unfair taxation on commercial vehicles, goods and fuel:SomeArabicoun-triesapplyadditionaltaxesonfuelinordertosupportnationalfuelpriceswhileothersimpose taxeson transit to recover their roadmaintenanceexpenses,mainly fromcommercialvehicles.

d: Long waiting times at borders:Necessarydocumentsandstampsthatshouldbepresented to theauthoritiesatborderschange fromcountry tocountry,whichcausescomplicatedprocedures, longwaiting timesandexceedingstays insomecases.

Barr iers toRoadTransport in theArabRegion

Table10:LogisticsPerformanceIndex(LPI)inArabStates

3 2 RoadTransport

e: Compulsory escorts: Some countries impose es-corts due to security problems and trucks are stoppedfordaysatborders.Whateverthereasonsforthisrequire-ment,suchpracticesdisturbthemovementofgoodsandleadtobigincreasesinthecostofroadtransportservicestothewholeeconomy. f: Expensive and time-consuming procedures for professional driver visas:Therestrictions,complicat-ed,longandcostlyproceduresimposedbyauthoritiesforissuingvisastotheprofessionaldriversisamajorproblemfortheArabfleetoperatorsintheMiddleEastregion.

g: Poor infrastructure and lack of regular mainte-nance.

h: Lack of secure truck parking areas and main-tenance stations on the international roads in the Middle East region.

i: Lack of government incentives to facilitate devel-opment of the road transport sector.

j:Lack of implementation of the UN conventions and international agreements:Mostof thecountriesintheMiddleEastregionarenotinterestedinaccedingtoandimplementingthemaininternationalagreementsandUNconventions,whichwerecreatedinthelast60yearsinordertodeveloproadtransport.Evenafteraccession,suchinternationalconventionsandagreementsareoftennotstrictly implemented,which isyetanothersourceofmajorconcernfortheArabfleetoperators.

Inadditiontotheabovementioned,theAULTstudyalsoidentifiedthefollowingissuesandproblems,whichshouldbehandledbyfleetoperatorsandthroughsolidarityoftheroadtransportindustryintheMiddle

Eastregion:

a: Fleet operators should modernise their fleets to meet international standards.

b: Road transport companies should invest in human resources and employ experienced personnel, who are trained in international standards.

c: Fleet operators should reinforce their professional cooperation at national and regional levels by establishing or supporting their national professional organisations which are affiliated with regional and international professional organisations, namely AULT and the IRU. d: Fleet operators must strictly respect rules and regulations with respect to rest times, technical standards, weight and dimensions.

e: There is an urgent need in the Middle East region to increase the number of professional interna-tional road transport companies with big fleets, skilled professionals, quality services and corporate culture.

AlltheseproblemsandbarriersfacingroadtransportintheMiddleEastregionnotonlytheroadtransportindustrybutsuch,mainlynon-physical,barriersalsoaffecttheeconomyandcitizensofacountrybecausetheycausead-ditionalcostsfortransportservicesanddecreasethecompetitivenessoftradegoodsinglobalmarkets,ingeneral.Therefore,suchproblemsmustbeaddressedbyallinterestedparties,particularlygovernments,inaconsistentandsystematicmannerasapriority.

3 3


RoadTransport

For any region or international trade corridor, the elimination of physical and non-physicalbarrierstoroadtransportisthemostimportantconditioninordertoattractinternationaltransittraffic.In1998,theHagueConsultingGroupundertookaninvestigationonbehalfoftheIRUtomeasuretheeconomicimpactofavoidableobstructionstothefreemovementofroadfreightandcoachoperations:so-called“barriers”totransport.Theassessmentofthecostsofthesenon-physicalbarrierswascalculatedandcomparedwiththetotalcostofroadtransporttothenationaleconomy.FiveEuropeancountrieswereselectedforthestudy:theCzechRepublic,France,Italy,PolandandtheUnitedKingdom.

Thestudyindicatedthatthemostimportantnon-physicalbarrierstoroadtransportwerecongestion(NorthwestEurope)anddelaysatbordercrossings(EasternEurope).Forthefivecountries investigated inthestudy,theexpertsestimatedthattheeco-nomiccostofnon-physicalbarrierstoroadtransport,togetherwiththelostbusinessopportunitiesofthehauliersduetosuchlosses,wasintheorderofUSD16billion.Thestudyconcludedthata1dollarincreaseinroadtransportcostsresultedina2dollarlosstotheeconomy.Theratiowas1:20forPoland.Onecouldestimatetheratiotobebetween1:50to1:100fortheMiddleEastRegion.

In2007,theMinistersofForeignAffairsof12MemberStatesoftheBlackSeaEco-

nomicCooperationOrganisation (BSEC) signed aMemorandumofUnderstandingonCoordinatedDevelopmentofBlackSeaRingHighwayandrequestedtheIRUtoorganiseatruckcaravaninordertopromotethisprojectandcollectspecifictransportdataaboutactualroadconditionsandnon-physicalbarriersatthebordersalongtheplannedBlackSeaRingHighwayroute.The data collected by transport specialists accompanying this truck caravan wasanalysedbyNEATransportResearchandTrainingintheNetherlands(NEA).Thebarriers identifiedinNEA’sassessment includedborderdelayscausedbycon-gestionandadministrativeprocedures, transportpermitsneeded tocarryout roadgoodstransportintheregionandthevisarequirementsfordrivers.Thecostsrelatedtoborderdelaysincludedoperationalcosts(vehiclesandperson-nel),standardbusinesscosts(inventory,depreciation,production)aswellasbusinessopportunitycosts.Asaresult,NEAassessedthattheannualcoststotheBSECeconomyofborderwait-ingtimes,currentbilateralroadtransportpermitsystemsanddrivervisarequirementsandprocedures,wasEUR229million.Allthesescientificstudiesleavenodoubtthatthereisaveryhighcostofnon-physicalbarriers to road transport anywhere in theworld, including in themost developedmarketsorthedevelopingcountries.TheMiddleEastregionisnotanexceptiontothiswell-recognisedprinciple.

EconomicCostof Barr iers toRoadTransport

TheWay Forward:Middle East countr iesmust accede and implement pr ior i ty t ransport convent ionsof theUN

AsroadtransportcanplayavitalroleindrivingprogressacrosstheMiddleEastregion,whichcanserveasanimportantalternativeinternationaltradetransitcorridortothebenefitofallcountriesinthisregion,itistimely,ifnotlate,forthenationalauthoritiesineachcountrytoprioritiseroadtransportdevelopmentandfacilitationontheiragenda.Oncethisvisionissharedandthereisadetermination,itisthedutyofnationalgovernmentstoaccedeandimplementthekeyroadtransportconventionsandmultilateralagreements,whichhavebeencreatedbytheUnitedNationsEconomicCommissionforEurope(UNECE)inthelast60years.TheseConventionsandAgreementsareopentoaccessionforallmembercountriesoftheUnitedNations.InterestednationalgovernmentscanalwaysreceiveanydetailedinformationornecessarytechnicalsupportfromtheUnitedNationsinordertoensurethemostappropriateimplementationwithintheirterritoryfollowingaccession.Inthisconnection,thefollowingUNECEConventionsshouldbeexpandedintheMiddleEastregionasaprioritybecausetheirimplementationwouldbringimmediatedirectbenefitstotheroadtransportindustryintheMiddleEast:

3 4 RoadTransport

Key Road Transport Facilitation Conventions

The Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods By Road (CMR),establishedinGenevaon19May1956,facilitates internationalroadtransportbyprovidingacommontransportcontract, includingacommonconsign-mentnoteandharmonisedliabilitylimits.TheCMRfixestheconditionsgoverningthecontractfortheinternationalcarriageofgoodsbyroadbetweenthecarrierandtheforwarderandsetstheconditionsofliabilityofthecarrierincaseoftotalorpartiallossofgoods.TheCMRbelongstoprivatelawandhavesnodirectimplicationsforgov-ernmentsbut,inorderfortransportoperatorstoimplementtheConvention,itmustbeincludedintheirnationallegislation.AnewProtocoltotheCMRisbeingconsideredinordertointroducetheuseofanelectronicconsignmentnote.TheCMRhelpstomaintain faircompetitionbetweencarriersand limits thecostsof international roadtransport,includinginsurancecosts.

The Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention)of1975setsuptheprocedurethatper-mitstheinternationalcarriageofgoodsbyroadvehiclesorcontainersfromonecus-tomsofficeofdeparturetoacustomsofficeofarrival,throughasmanycountriesasnecessary,withoutintermediatecheckofthegoodscarriedandwithoutthedepositof a financialguaranteeateachborder.Theprocedure includes theuseof securevehicles or containers that have to be approved by authorities according to stan-dardsprescribedintheConventioninorderforthemtobeusedforTIRoperations.Italso includesan internationalguaranteechain,setupunder theConventionandadministeredbytheIRU,tocoverdutiesandtaxesatriskthroughoutthejourneyandwhereby ineachPartyadulyauthorisedassociationprovidesaguaranteetowardsnationalcompetentauthorities.Inaddition,thegoodsareaccompaniedbyaninterna-tionalcustomsdocument,theTIRCarnet,whichcertifiesthecontentsofthecargoascheckedatthecustomsofficeofdepartureandwhichisalsoaguaranteedocument.TheCustomsauthoritiesatintermediatebordersrecognisetheinspectionsperformedatthecustomsofficeofdeparture,trusttheinformationcontainedintheTIRCarnetanddonotundertakechecksexceptindulyjustifiedcases.Theprocedurealsofore-seesacontrolledaccesstotheTIRSystemandtheexclusionfromthesystemofop-

eratorswhomisuseitforillegalpurposes.AnelectroniccontrolsystemforTIRCarnets(SafeTIR)wasdevelopedbytheIRUtostrengthenthesecurityoftheTIRSystem.Thissystemusesaninternationalcomputernetworkanddedicatedsoftware,allowingtheIRUanditsnationalMemberAssociationstoensureriskmanagement.Thesenetworkapplicationsalsoallowcustomsauthorities toundertakevalidationof thestatusofagivenTIRCarnetaswellasimplementcontrolandriskmanagementmeasuresatcustomslevel.TheSafeTIRdataareaccessiblethroughasecureinternetconnectionbyCustomsofficersoradministrations towhichauthorisationshavebeengranted,freeofcharge,bytheIRU.ThecontrolsystemwasapprovedasAnnex10totheTIRConventioninFebruary2005andbecamemandatoryon12August2006,thusrep-resentinganimportantfurthersteptowardsafullcomputerisationoftheTIRSystem.Allthesenewsystemsresultinminimalproceduresanddelaysatbordersandinlowertransportcosts,whichinturnresultinlowerexportandimportcosts.

The International Convention on the Harmonisation of Frontier Controls of Goods of 1982 aims at facilitating border crossings for international transport ofgoodsthroughharmonisationandreductionoftherequirementsforcompletingfor-malitiesandthenumberanddurationofbordercontrols.TheConventionestablishestheproceduresforcarryingoutefficientlyalltypesofcon-trolsthatmaybenecessaryatborders,includingcustomscontrols,medico-sanitaryinspections,veterinaryinspections,phytosanitaryinspections,controlsofcompliancewithtechnicalstandardsandqualitycontrols.Procedureslargelycallfornationalco-operationandcoordinationofthevariousservices,aswellasforinternationalcooper-ationbetweentherespectiveborderservicesoftheadjacentcountries.TheConven-tionforeseesmeasuresthatincludejointcontrolsofgoodsanddocumentsthroughtheprovisionofsharedfacilities,sameopeninghoursandsametypesofservicesatthesameborder.Theseproceduresapplytoallgoodsbeingimported,exportedorintransitandtoallmodesoftransport.TheConventionisforeseenforglobalapplicationandprovidesforareductioninthenumberanddurationofalltypesofcontrolsandbestpracticesforefficientcontrolsofgoodsatbordercrossings.Itaimsatpromotingtheone-stop-shopprincipleforbordercontrols.Asaresult,theConventionreducesborderdelays,whichresultsinlowertransportcostsand,therefore,inlowerexportandimportcosts.

3 5


RoadTransport

The European Agreement concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles en-gaged in International Road Transport (AETR)of1July1970aimsatpreventingdriversandcrewsofcommercialvehiclesofmore than3.5 tonnes,or transportingmorethan9people,engagedininternationalroadtransport,fromdrivingexcessivehours,asthisincreasestheriskofseriousroadaccidentsandmaycreatedisparitiesintheworkingconditionsofthiscategoryofworkersandinthecompetitionconditionsoftheircompanies.Tothisend,theAETRregulatesthedrivingandrestperiodsofthoseprofessional drivers. TheAgreement also defines the on board control device, theso-calledtachograph,thatisusedtocontrolthoseperiods,andsetsupthegeneralprovisionsaswellasalltechnicalrequirementsfortheconstruction,testing,installa-tionand inspectionof thedevice.Additionally, theAETRalsosetsuprequirementsforthecheckingofdrivinghoursbythecompetentauthoritiesofContractingParties.TheAETRisnowbeingamendedtointroducethedigitaltachograph,which,contrarytothemechanicaltachographs,willbetamper-proofandcannotbemanipulated.Byregulating thedrivingand restperiodsofdriversofheavycommercial vehiclesen-gagedininternationaltransport,theAETRcreatesalevelplayingfieldintheroadhaul-age industryandhelpspreventroadaccidentscausedbyfatigue.Theseaccidentsmaybeallthemoreseriousasthevehiclesinvolvedareheavygoodsvehiclesorcarryalargenumberofpassengers.

The European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Danger-ous Goods by Road (ADR)of1957aimsatensuringthehighestpossiblelevelofsafety in the transport of dangerousgoodsat aneconomically acceptable cost. Itidentifiesthesubstancesthatareconsideredasdangerousgoodsandthatcanbead-mittedininternationaltransportandestablishestheconditionsunderwhichtheycanbecarried.Theseincludetheclassificationofsubstancesaccordingtotheirspecifictypeofdanger(explosives,flammableliquids,flammablegases,corrosivesubstances,etc.),packingconditions, labelling,marking,placarding,documentationandspecialrequirementsfortanks.TheADRalsocontainsrequirementsontransportoperations,drivertrainingaswellasvehicleconstructionandapproval.Securityprovisionshaverecently been included. The Annexes to the ADR are usually amended every twoyears.WhileobligingContractingPartiestoacceptvehiclescomingfromotherPar-ties if theycomplywiththeADR,theAgreementpreservestherightofContractingPartiestoprohibit,forreasonsotherthansafetyduringcarriage,theentryofdanger-ousgoodsintotheirterritory.ContractingPartiesalsoretaintherighttoarrangelessstringentconditionsofinternationaltransportontheirterritories,byspecialbilateralormultilateralagreements.TheADRisopenforaccessiontoallUNmemberStates.Ac-cessiontotheADRhasnofinancialimplicationsforcountries.However,forexportingcountries,itimposesadministrativestructuresfortestingandapprovalofpackagings,tanksandvehicles,fordriveranddangerousgoodssafetyadvisortrainingandforis-suingthecorrespondingcertificates.TheADRprovidesforahighlevelofsafetyandsecurityduringinternationalcarriageofdangerousgoods.Italsofacilitatestransportandtradeofsuchgoodsresultingfrommutualrecognitionofpackaging,tank,vehicleanddrivertrainingcertificates.BeingharmonisedwiththeUNModelRegulationsthatserveasabasisforallmodesoftransportandmostnationalregulationsatworldwidelevelalsofacilitatescompliance,enforcementandcontrol.AnnexesAandBarealsousedforregulatingdomestictrafficinEUcountries.

3 6

I R U D U B A I D E C L A R AT I O N“ROADTRANSPORT,THEVITALLINKTOPROGRESS!”

Everymoderneconomyorsocietyneedstransportinordertofunction.Roadtransportistheprincipalmeansofachievingthis.Roadtransporthasbecomeanessentialproductiontoolinalleconomies,providinghighqualityservicestoitsclientsandultimatelytoconsumersandisthusavitallinktoprogress.

WithoutefficientroadtransporttherecannotbesustainabledevelopmentasdefinedintheUnitedNationsMillenniumGoals.Governmentsmustthereforeputinplacepoli-ciesthatfacilitateratherthanhinderroadtransportoperationsiftheyaretomeettheiragreeduponeconomic,socialandenvironmentalgoals.Economicandtradedevelopmentallovertheworldwouldbegreatlyenhancedbyastrengthenedmutualcooperationinroadinfrastructureandroadtransportdevelop-mentandtheestablishmentofasoundlegalframeworkgoverningthefacilitationofcross-borderandtransittransportbyroad.Thisshouldbeaccompaniedbythere-movalofnon-physicalbarriersinroadtransportcausedbyartificialandbureaucraticformalitiesblockingroadtransportinandbetweencountries.

The IRU, itsMemberAssociationsand road transportoperators – recognising therolethatroadtransportplaysineconomic,socialandenvironmentalprogressandin

accordancewiththeIRU’s3”i”strategyforachievingsustainabledevelopmentcallingforinnovation,incentivesandinfrastructure–havetakentheirresponsibilitiestomeetthemobilityneedsofprogress.

Thefullpotentialofroadtransport’scontributiontomodernsocietycan,however,onlyberealisedifallstakeholders,includingpolicymakersandtheroadtransportindustry,workcloselytogetherto

AchieveSustainableDevelopmentby:Recognisingthatamodernsocietyrequiresefficientlogisticsandthatroadtransportplays a fundamental role in efficient supply chains, passenger transport and inter-modaltransportsystems.Acknowledgingandcomplementingtheroadtransportsector’sowninitiatives.Realbusinessincentivesshouldbeprovidedtoaccelerateroadtransportoperators’con-tribution to environmental protection through innovative, at sourcemeasures. Butinnovationscanbring fullbenefitsonly ifGovernmentsensurebestuseofexistinginfrastructureand investadequately innew infrastructure toeliminatemissing linksandbottlenecks.Accepting that growing demand for road transport services is a consequence ofeconomic growth and cannot be decoupled from it. At the same time, growth inroadtransportcanbedecoupledfromitsenvironmentalimpact.HenceGovernmentsshould renouncepolicies that aim to shiftmodal split byhindering road transport,whichhasanevengreaternegativeimpactontheeconomyasawhole.

RoadTransport

3 7


Establishing a sustainable energy policythatdulytakesintoaccountthattrans-port istotallydependentonoilandcurrentlyhasnoeconomicallyviablealternativesourceofenergy.Massiveinvestmentsincleanernewroadvehiclescanbringenvi-ronmentalbenefitsonly if therequiredfuelqualityandadditivesaremadeavailableeverywhere.

Enhancing road safetybytargetingthemaincausesofaccidentsinvolvingcom-mercialvehiclesbasedonscientificfact.

Applying solutions of a sustainable and integrated transport systempavingthewayforthefurtherdevelopmentofroadtransportthusprovidingasoundfounda-tionforeconomicprosperityandsocialprogress.

Achieve Facilitation by:

Developing further open trading, personal mobility and transport systems thatarepredictableandnon-discriminatoryeithernationallyorinternationallybymini-misingbureaucraticbarrierstothemovementandtransitofpeople,goods,roadve-hiclesandtheirdrivers.

Encouraging the adherence to and application of United Nations Conven-tionspertainingtothefacilitationofinternationalroadtransportandcreatingfavour-ablecross-borderandtransittransportconditionssincenon-physicalbarriersstillre-mainmajorobstaclestothefurtherdevelopmentofroadtransport.

Introducing and implementing efficient fiscal, social and technical regula-tions.Governmentsmust fully respect theprincipleofnon-discriminationbetweentransportmodes.

Making road transport operators fit to compete in the modern market place. Ensurefaircompetitionwithintheroadtransportsectorandbetweendiffer-enttransportmodesasapreconditionforimprovingefficiencyandcompetitiveness.Properfinancialstandingandprofessionalexcellenceoftransportmanagersaswellastop-leveltrainingfordriversareessentialtoofferqualityservicetosocietyandtheeconomy.Utilise,amongstotherthings,theinternationalrecognitionprovidedbytheIRUAcademyanditswidenetworkofaccreditedtraininginstitutes.

Taking measures to effectively reduce the potential risks and dangers to internationalroadtransportbypreventingattacksondriversandthetheftofvehiclesandcargo,namelybycreatinganetworkofsecureparkingareas.

Providing landlocked countries,manyofwhichareemergingnations,withanac-cesstoroadtransportamenitiesthusfosteringtheeconomicandsocialdevelopmentofthesecountries.Silk-Road-typeprojectscanbeextremelyusefulinthisrespect.Incallingonroadtransport’sgovernmentpartnerstoplaytheirpartviathisDeclara-tion,theIRUanditsMemberAssociationsalsorenewtheirpledgetoworkforthebet-termentofsocietyasawhole,byprovidinghigherqualityandmoreenvironmentallyefficientroadtransportservices.

RoadTransport

3 8 OtherModelsofTransport

DatafromtheArabMonetaryFund(2001)revealthattherailwaynetworkintheArabworld passes through 11 countries:Mauritania,Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt,Sudan,Lebanon,Syria,Jordan, IraqandtheKingdomofSaudiArabia.Thegrosslengthofthenetwork(datafromyear2001)isapproximately25.3thousandkm,ofwhichonly15.8thousandkmhasthestandardwidthof1,435mm.Thelengthofthedouble–tracknetworkisabout2,600km,andthelengthoftheelectrifiedlinesisabout1,400km,whiletherestisasingletrack.

Ingeneral,therailwaynetworksuffersfromitslimitedexpansionandlackofconnec-tivityinmanypartsoftheregion,inadditiontoitspoormaintenancewhichrendersitsservicesinefficientandbelowambitionsofmodernityandefficiency.Also,thecapac-ityoftherailwaynetworkislimitedbytheheterogeneityofitstechnicalspecifications.Forinstance,thespeedoftherailwayinSudanis60kmperhour,whileitis250kmperhourinIraq.Themaximumpermittedaxialloadsvariesbetween12tonnesand25tonnesacrossthevarioustracksoftherailwaynetwork.

Availabledatashowthatmostoftherailwaytracksandvehiclesneedmodernisationandupgradingwhilesometracksneedurgentnewinvestments.InAlgeria,thelengthoftherailwaytrackis4,200km,mostofwhichisinurgentneedofnewinvestmentstoupgradeit.

Railways

O t h e r M o d e s o f Tr a n s p o r tTransport In f rastructure&Capaci tyUt i l isat ion

3 9


Existing situation in some Arab states is as follows:

InEgypt,therailwaynetworkcarriesabout435millionpassengers per year, or about 1.2million passengersperday,inadditiontoapproximately10,000passengerswho rideon topof thecarriageswithouta ticket.Thenetworkcarriesaround11tonnesofgoodsannuallyandcheap third-class trains servemore than80%ofpas-sengers. Recently, the government has constructed amodernunderground2-linemetroinCairowhichhasacapacityformorethanonemillionpassengersdaily.

Saudi ArabiahastheonlyrailwaysystemintheArabianPeninsula.Itisa2-linesystem,withatotalof1,000km,which runsbetweenRiyadh andDammam.Theolderbutlongerlineisafreightlineandrunsviathecity“Hu-fuf”,whilethenewerlineisquitemodernandprovidespassengerservice.TheSaudiRailwaysOrganisationwillconstruct three new lineswith a total length of 2,800km. These three lines will include: (1) the land-bridgeconnectingJeddahonthewestcoasttoDammamandJubailon theeastcoast,whilepassingviaRiyadh; (2)thewestern railwaywhichwill link Riyadh toHail andQurrayet;and (3) thenorth-south railway–alsocalledthe“mineralsrailway”–toconnectkeyphosphateand

bauxitemines at Hazm al-Jalamidwith their process-ingfacilitiesatRasal-Zourintheeast.It isnoteworthythattheland-bridgeallowsthelandtransportofgoodsbetween Jeddah and Dammam in only 18 hours, ascompared to thecurrentdurationof4-5daysbysea.Additionally,passengerswillbeabletotravelhorizontallyacrosstheKingdominaroundhalfthecurrentduration.

The railway system in Sudan is a 4,725 km narrowgaugesingletracknetwork.AccordingtotheZawyaBDdatabase, thecapacityof thisrailwaynetwork in2006was1.32 tonnesof freightandabout61,000passen-gers, which is a 10% improvement compared to thepreviousyear.

AsforSyria,itsrailwaynetworkisexpandingintermsofitscapacityandusage,asthenumberofpassengersus-ingitmorethandoubledduringtheperiod2000–2005,toreachabout2millionpassengers.Also,theamountoffreighttransportedviathisrailwaynetworkincreasedbyonethirdthisperiod,toreach8.2tonnes.

InTunisia, the railwaynetwork is1,960km in length.Availabledatashowthatthevolumeoffreightcarriedbytherailwaypeakedin1999,toreach12.5milliontonnes,butsincethenitdeclined.Also,70%ofthefreightweight

isphosphateswhilearound16%ofitisfertilizers.How-ever,oneaspectofinefficiencyoftherailwaysystemisthatcerealtransporthassteadilyshiftedtoroads.Asforpassengertransport,therailwayssystemisgenerallyre-liableandalsoovercrowded.Thecapacityoftherailwaysystemwasupto36-38millionpeopleinrecentyears,and this number is continuously increasing as morepeopleareusingtherailwaynetworkforshortdistanceroutesinGreaterTunis.

Inturn,thegovernmentofDubai,UAEisconstructingamulti-billionUSDmetrosystem,whichwilllinktogeth-erdowntownDeiraandDubaiInternationalAirportandthe financial district onSheikhZayedRoadand JebelAli.Thismetrosystemisplannedtobesetinservicein2009.

OtherModelsofTransport


MainRailwayCorridors

East-West Routes

R90 SouthArabianPeninsula:

BabEl-Mandab–Aden–Al-Mukhalla–Geizah–Shahan–

Mazyounah–Thumrayt

R82 Doha:Doha–Salwah

R80 Jubeil–Jeddah:Jubeil–Dammam–Hufuf–Riyadh–Jeddah

R70 Safaga–Al-Kharja:Safaga–Qena–Al-Kharja

R60 Maán–Verdun:Maán–Aqaba–Nuweiba–Nakhel–Verdun

Bridge

R50 MediterraneanSouthernCoast–NileDelta:Rafah–PortSaid–

VerdunBridge–Ismailia

R40 WestIraq–Jordan:Haklania–Tarabil–Karamah–Al-Azraq–

Zarqaá

R30 Damascus–Beirut:Damascus–Masna–Beirut

R20 MiddleSyria:Kamishli–Hasaka–DeirEz-Zor–Tadmor–Maheen–

Homs–Akkary–Tartous

R10 Iraq–EastMediterranean:Khanaqin–Baghdad

North–South Routes

R05 Iraq–EastArabianPeninsula:

Yaaroubia–Mousul–Baghdad–Al-Samawah–Nasiriyah–

Basrah–UmmQasr–Kuwait–AbuHadriyah–Jubail–Dammam-

Salwah–Bathaá–Al-Ghweifat–AbuDhabi–Dubai–Fujairah–

Kalba–Sohar–Muscat–Thumrayt–Salalah

R15 MiddleArabianPeninsula:

Riyadh–Buraydah–Hail–AbuAjram–Quorayat–Al-Azraq

R25 Syria–Jordan–SaudiArabia–Yemen:

MidanIkbis–Aleppo–Homs–Maheen–Damascus–Daraá–

Zarqaá –Amman–Maán–Al-Mudawara–HalatAmmar–Tabuk–

Medina–Jeddah–Darb–Harad–Hodeidah–Al-Muakha

R27 Homs–Riyyaq

R35 EastMediterranean:Lattakia–Tartus–Tripoli–Beirut–Tyr

R45 NileValley:Cairo–Qena–Aswan–WadiHalfa

4 1


SeaPorts

SeaPortInfrastructureandCapacityUtilisation

As theArabworld is geographically attheheartofthe“ancientworld”,andhasastrategically important location in theroutes of international trade transport,manyArabcountriesarerenovatingandexpandingtheirseaports,withtheaimofbecomingregional logisticshubsforinternational and regional trade trans-port.


4 2

The existing situation in some major Arab ports is as follows:

Intermsofcapacity,theportofAdeninYemenhaslostalargeshareofitscapacityafterthebombingattackin2002,asitsactualcapacitydroppedto42,000TEUs.

DataforportsinAlgeriashowthattheBejaiaContainerTerminalcurrentlyhandlesaround50,000TEUperyear,andithasupgradeditscapacitytoprocess30contain-ersperhourascomparedtoaninitial10containersperhour. InEgypt,navigationalwaterisaround3,100kmandcarriesaround4%ofdomesticfreight.Seaportsprocess85%-90%ofEgypt’sinternationaltradevolume.Withtheprivately run ports of Ain al-Sokhna and East Port Said, the total goods handlingcapacityincreasedto82milliontonnesperyearin2004/2005ascomparedto56.4milliontonnesperyearin1999/2000.

InLebanon,seaportshandlemorethan70%ofallfreightincomingtothecountry.

KuwaitinturnaimstoserveasaregionalgatewayforthenorthernpartoftheGulf,bydevelopinggoodseaandlandtransportfacilities,withtheambitiontodeveloparailnetworkandanewseaport.Asforitsfleetcapacity,Kuwaitoperatesitsowntankerfleet,which iscomposedofeightcrudecarrierswitha totalcapacityof2,348,552deadweighttonnes(dwt),eleven591,567dwtproductcarriers,andfive242,161dwtliquefiedgascarriers.

InOman,theSalalahPortaccommodatescontainerships,anditsthroughputisin-creasingrapidly.Datashowthat, in2006,theport’scapacitytohandlegoodsreg-istered2.3milliontonnes,whichreflectsa29%increasecomparedtothepreviousyear.

Saudi ArabiaiswitnessingaprojecttoexpandthecapacityoftheDammamportto1.9millionTEUsbyend–2008ascomparedto900,000TEUsinmid–2007.

TheSuakinport inSudanhandles1.5million tonnesofgoodsperyear.Also, thetankerterminalatBashayeristhecountry’soil-exportpoint,andincludesfivestoragetankswithacapacityofaround2millionbarrels. In2007thisporthandledaround400,000barrelsperdayforexports.

TartousportisthelargestinSyria,asithandledaround60%oftotalimportvolumein2005,accordingtotheavailabledata.Baniasportisdedicatedtotheoilindustry,andaround7.5milliontonnesofpetrolandrelatedproductswereexportedfromitin2005,ascomparedtoaround13.7milliontonnesin2003and20milliontonnesin2002. TheportofTunisiahavethecapacitytohandle26milliontonnesoffreightin2006,andaround660,000passengersusedthemforentryandexit–thoughalmostallofthemtookplaceatLaGoulette.Despitetheport’sgeneralinadequacyintermsofde-laysinthetransitofmerchandise,inefficientgoodshandling,alongwithpoorlinksbe-tweentheshipandroadandrailnetworks,andthedelaysinthecustomsprocedures,theportsofLaGouletteandRadeshavebeenmodernisedandhighlyequippedwithnewquaysandcomputerisedsystemsandfacilitiestopromoteeasierandmoreef-ficienthandlingofgoods,inadditiontosimplifyingthecustomsprocedurestoreducethetimeneededforgoodshandling.

TheseaportsinfrastructureintheUnited Arab Emiratesischaracterisedasbeingextensiveandofgoodquality,inadditiontotheports’well-establishedclientrelationsandtop-classservicesand facilitiesprovided.TheportsofDubai,namelyJebelAliandPortRashid,arebyfartheregion’stophublocations.Otherportsoftheemirates,suchasKhorFakkanandFujairaportsarewitnessingdevelopmentstoexpandtheirhandlingcapacities.Also,themainportinAbuDhabi,MinaZayedterminal,isunder-goinga20-yearexpansionproject,whichisexpectedtoendby2013.Also,Dubaiisexpandingitsportcapacityanddevelopingmoreefficientportfacilitiestoattractthenewgenerationofvesselscapabletocarry6,000–8,000tonnesofgoods,andwhichiscurrentlydominatingmajorshippinglanes.


4 3


MainSeaPorts in theRegionAlgeria: Alger,Annaba,Arzew,Bejaia,BeniSaf,Bethioua,Chazaouet,Cherchel,Chetaibi,Collo,Dellys,El-Kala,Jijel,MersEl-Kebir,Mostaganem,Oran,

Skikda, Tenes,Tipasa.

Bahrain: Al-ManamahHarbor,MinaSulman,Sitrah.

Djibouti: PortofDjibouti

Egypt: AbuZanimah,Adabiya,AinSukhaTerminal,Alexandria,Al-Ghudaqah,Al-Qusayr,As-Sallum,BurSafaga,Damietta,Dekheila,El-HamraOilTerminal,El-

Ismailia,Geisum,Matruh,PortSaid,RasGharib,Rashid,RasShukheir,SidiKerir,Suez,WadiFeiran,ZeitBeyTerminal.

Iraq: Al-Basarah,Al-Faw,KhawrAl-Amaya,MinaAl-Bakr,UmmQasr.

Jordan: Al-Aqaba

Kingdom of

Saudi

Arabia: Dammam,Jeddah,Jizan,JuaymahOilTerminal,Jubail,KingFahid,RasAl-Khafji,RasAl-Mishab,RasAt-Tannurah,Yanbu.

Kuwait: Al-Kuwait,Ash-Shuaibah,MinaAbdallah,MinaAl-Ahmadi,MinaAz-Zawar.

Lebanon: Beirut,Tripoli.

Libya: As-Sidr,Banghazi,Darnah,MarsaAl-Burayqah,MarsaAl-Hilal,MarsaSabratah,MarsaSusah,Misratah,RasLanuf,Tripoli,Tubruq,ZawiaOilTerminal,

Zeitina,Zuwarah.

Morocco: Agadir,Alcazar,Casablanca,Essaouira,El-Jadida,Larache,Mehdiya,Mohammeadia,PortNador,Rabat,Safi,Tanger.

Oman: MinaAl-Fahl,MinaQabus,MinaRaysut.

Qatar: Ad-Dawhah,JazirathHalul,UmmSaid(Musayid).

Sudan: PortofSudan.

Syria: Al-Ladhiqiyah,Baniyas,Tartus.

Tunisia: Al-Muhdiyah,As-Sukhayrah,As-Suq,Banzart,BurjQulaybiyah,Gabes,HalqAl-Wadi,HawmatSouse,RasSidiAbdAllah,Sfax,Tabarqah,Taserka,

Tunis.

United Arab

Emirates: AbuAl-Bu-Khoosh,AbuDhabi,Al-Hamriyah,ArzanahIslandPort,Ash-Shariqah,Az-ZannahRuways,Das,Dubai,FatehTerminal,FujayrahHarbor,Khawr

Fakkan,MinaJebelAli,MinaSaqr,MubarrazOilTerminal,SharjahOffshorePort,UmmAl-Qaywayn,UmmAn-Nar.

Yemen: Aden,Ahmadi,Al-Mukalla,Kamaran,RasIsaTerminal.


4 4

Airports

AirwayTransportInfrastructureandCapacityUtilisation

Tobenefitfromthestrategicgeographiclocationof theArabworld,manyArabstates are modernising their existingairport infrastructure and facilities, andbuilding new airports, with the aim ofbecoming regional and internationalhubs for freight and passengermove-ments. Despite the availability of highstandards airports and modern fleets,thedemandforairtransportintheArabworldremainslargerthantheprevailingcapacities.


4 5


The existing situation in someArab states is as follows:

Intermsofcapacity,availabledatashowthatLebanon’sBeirut–RafikHaririInternationalAirportnowholdsaca-pacity of 6million passengers annually, after itsmod-ernisationandexpansioninthe1990saftertheendingofthecivilwar.

Kuwait International Airport has a capacity to handle100–150flightsdaily,withatotalpassengermovementofabout6millionperyear.KuwaitairporthandlesthislargenumberofdailyflightspartlybecauseitactsasastationformanytravellerstransferringtoIraq,inadditiontotheKuwaitboundtravellers.

Libyaisintoaprojecttoimproveandexpandtheinter-nationalairportofTripoli,whichincludesconstructinganewterminal,inordertohandleanextra8millionpas-sengersperyear.

InMorocco,thegovernmentisplanningtoexpandthecapacityof itsairport facilities inorder tomeeta fore-castedgrowthinthenumberofpassengerstoreach27millionin2020.Inparticular,thecapacityofMohammadVairportinCasablancawilldoubleto8millionpassen-gersin2008,asthisairportholdsapproximately50%ofallpassengerairtrafficinMoroccoand85%offreight.Regardingthescheduledflightmarket,thegovernmentmadea forecast for theyear2010,when61%of thismarketwillbeheldby“RoyaleAirMaroc”(RAM),38%

byforeigncarriersand1%byprivateMoroccanopera-tors.

InOman, the Seeb International airport, which is themainairport,hadbeenwitnessingsteadygrowthoverthe recent years. In 2006, the total number of arriv-als exceeded 21,000 passengers, and the passengerthroughputisincreasingstrongly.Thesecondphaseofinvestmentintheairportwillallowittoaccommodate24millionpassengersannually.

InSyria,theairportsofAleppoandLatakiaalongwithDamascus airport (which is Syria’s largest airport) to-gether accommodated about 3.2 million passengersand35,590tonnesoffreightin2005.Thegovernmenthas set a three-phase strategy to develop Damascusairportandtoincreaseitscapacityto10millionpassen-gersannuallybytheendof2020.

Tunisia airport facilities have a capacity of about 12million passengers per year. New investments targetincreasingthecapacityofMonastir–Skanes from3.5millionpassengers/yeartoabout5millionpassengers/year,andincreasingthecapacityofJebra–Zarzisfrom2.5 million passengers/ year to 4 million passengers/year. The government is also building new airports toaccommodateitsforecastedgrowthinfreightandpas-senger movements passing via the Tunisian airports.In thiscontext, an8thairport isunderconstructionatGabesanda9thairportisplannedtobebuiltatEnfidha.Inturn,TunisAircarried3.8millionpassengersin2006ascomparedto3millionpassengersin2000.Asforits

air freightcapacity,availabledatashow thatair freightpeakedintheyear1994registering31,000tonnes,butthendeclinedtoreach19,000tonnesinyear2006.

The airport facilities and infrastructure in the United Arab Emiratesareextensiveandofgoodquality.Newinvestmentstargetbuildingnewairportfacilitiesinordertoincreasethegrosspassengercapacityto60million,ascomparedto22millionin2001.Amegagoodster-minal isalsounderconstruction,andwill liftthegoodscapacityto3milliontonnesannuallybytheyear2018.As for the passengermovement, the number of pas-sengersincreasedsteadilyoverthepastyearstoreach28.8millionin2006,comparedto18millionin2003,9.7millionin1998,and4.3millionin1988.Inturn,thenewairportunderconstructioninDubaiwillhaveacapacityof100millionpassengersannuallyuponitscompletion,whiletheexpansionprojectoftheAbuDhabiairportwillincreaseitscapacityfrom3millionpassengersyearly(in2005)to20millionpassengersyearlyin2010.

Table 11 summarizes themajor traits of the transportinfrastructure in selectedArab countries, according totheavailabledata.



Country Yemen Algeria Egypt Lebanon

Roads10,500kmasphalt,13,500kmgraded 88,853kmnationalroads,o/w1/3

trunkroads;29,394kmdirtroads&

tracksaccessibletomotorvehicles

45,500kmpaved,poorcondition,

carry85%ofdomesticfreightbyroad

New6-lanehighwaysonedge

ofBeirut,builtduringpost-war

reconstruction

Railwaysn.a. 4,200kmtrack 435millionpsgr/yror1.2million

psgr/day;11milliontones/yrofgoods

n.a.

PortsPortofAdencapacity=42,000TEUs Bejaiacontainerterminalhandles

50,000TEU/yr,althoughitscapacity

is300,000TEU/yr

Navigationalwaters3,100km,carry

4%ofdomesticfreight;seaports

process85-90%ofEgyptint’ltrade

Morethan70%ofallfreight

Airports

5majorairports 4majorairports,newterminalat

HouariBoumedienne:originalterminal

capacity>4milpsgr/yr,newterminal

has6milpsgr/yr

EgyptAircarries8.6millionpsgr Capacityof6millionpsgr/yr

Table11:MajorTraitsofTransportInfrastructureinSelectedArabCountries

Country Iraq Kuwait Libya Morocco

Roads

39,000kmnetwork,2,000kmingood

condition&2,000kmismotorway

4,967kmexcellentroadnetwork 25,000kmtarmacroad,mostmajor

towns&villagesincludingdessert

oases are accessible by car

Ruralnetworkisextendedby

1,500km/yr;currentlyonly50%of

rural population is served by roads

usable all yr round

Railways

5majorroutes.In2006,plantobuild

2,300kmofnewlines

Plantobuildrailwaydownthecoast

intoKSAEasternProvince,expected

tobeginin2010.Planfordomestic

a165km4-linemetrorunning

bothunderandabovegroundwith

capacityof70mpassengers

Planstobuild2,178kmcoastalline

fromTunisiatoEgypt,&992kmline

fromSirtetoSebhainthesouth

Halfofthe1,907kmnetworkis

electrified,newprojectstomodernize

400kmofelectrifiedline,&constructa

high-speedlinebetweenCasablanca

andAgadirthroughMarrakesh,to

include18double-deckertrains,20

locomotives&300carriages

Ports

UmmQasrismaincommercialport,

aflotillaof21shipsissupposedto

besuppliedin2008toactivatethe2

terminalsproperly

8crudecarriers:2,348,552DWT;

11productcarriers:591,567DWT,

5liquefiedpetroleumgascarriers:

242,161DWT

Currentprojecttoexpandcapacityof

Tripoli port

Casablancahandlesalmosthalfofall

shippingtraffic,planstodevelopthe

associatedindustrialandcommercial

free-tradezonesareunderway

Airports

3internationalports(Baghdad,Basra,

Irbil),2domesticairports(Mosul,

Kirkuk)

Capacity:100-150flight/day;total

psgr=6million/yr

Currentprojecttoimprove&expand

TripoliIntr’lAirport&anewterminalto

handleanextra8millionpsgr/yr

12airports,Plantoenlargecapacity

tomeetforecastgrowthinpsgr

numberto27millionin2020;Moh’d

airportinCasablancahandles50%

ofallpsgrtraffic&85%offreightisto

doubtcapacityto8millionin2008.

4 7


Country Oman Qatar Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Sudan

RoadsNetworkofpavedroadsincreases

annually

7,760kmpaved&non-paved Developingthenetworkhasbeen

givenprioritysinceearly5-year

developmentplans

Roadinfrastructureisinadequate

Railways

n.a. n.a. OnlyrailwaysysteminArab

peninsula,2lines,1,000km;

LandbridgeprojectbetweenJeddah

&DammamthroughRiyadh:transport

goodsin18hrs

4,725kmofnarrow-guagesingle

track.

PortsSalalahPort:2.3milliontonnesof

goodshandledin2006increasedby

29%annually

Plantodoubtcapacityto800,000

TEU

ProjecttoexpandDammamport

capacityto1.9millionTEUsbyend-

2008

Suakincanhandle1.5milliontones/yr

Airports

SeebInt’lAirportsteadygrowth

toarrivalsto21,000psgrin2006;

airportinvestmenttoaccommodate

24millionpsgr.

Increasecapacityfrom4.2millionto

7.5millionpsgr

3international&maindomestic

(Jeddah,Dammam,Rhiyad),&

newlyinMecca.Expansionprojects

takeplaceinairportsofMecca

andJeddahtomeettransportation

challenges

Tomeetincreaseddemand,anew

internationalairportisbeingbuilt

40kmsouth-westofcapital

Country Syria Tunisia United Arab Emirates

RoadsIncreasedby50%inlast5years,

20%remainunasphalted

20,000kminprimary&secondary

roads

Extensive&goodqualitymainlyin

AbuDhabi&Dubai

Railways

2millionpsgrs,between2000-2005:

freightincreasedby1/3to8.2tones

1,960km,freightof12.5mtones,36-

38millionpsgr

Multi-billionUSDmetrolinkingDeira

toDubaiInt’lAirport&financialdistrict

ofSheikhZayedRoad&JebelAli.

Plannedtobesetinservicein2009.

Ports

Tartusport:largest,60%ofimports;

Baniasport:7.5mtonesofpetrol

products

26mtones, Extensive&ofgoodquality;Dubai

portsarethetopregionalhubinthe

Gulf;attractnewgenerationof6,000-

8,000TEUcontainervessels

Airports

Damascus,Aleppo,Latakia3.2m

psgr&35,590tones.

Damascus:plantoexpandto10m

psgrsby2020.

Capacity12mpsgr/yr,expand

capacityofMonasir-Skanesto5m

psgr/yr;

8thairportisbuilttohandle30mpsgr/

yr

Extensive&ofgoodquality,new

facilitiestoincreaseannualpsgr

capacityfrom22mto60m;

Megagoodsterminal:liftcapacityto

3mtones/yrby2018;

NewairportinDubaiofcapacity

100mpsgr/yr;

NewAbuDhabiairport(2005)tolift

capacityto20mpsgr/yr

Source:Zawyawebsite


4 8

R e g i o n a l Tr a n s p o r t P o l i c yRegional Pol icyCentresonTransport

MajortransportpolicycentresintheArabworldincludeprimarilytheUN-ESCWAandtheOrganisationofIslamicConferences,bothofwhichhaveanimportantroleinregulat-ingtransportamongtheirmemberstates.TheLeagueofArabStates,whichcreatedtheCouncilofArabMinistersofTransportandhasestablishedothersub-organisationsspecialisedinroad,railway,air,andseatransportandtheGulfCooperationCouncil(GCC)alsoplayanactiveroleindraftingagreementsandconventionstopromotefurtherintegrationamongtheirmemberstatesinthevariousfieldsoftransport.

RegionalTransportPolicy

UN Economic and Social Commis-

sionforWesternAsia

TheUnitedNationsEconomicandSocialCommission for Western Asia (UN ES-CWA) isaUnitedNationsregionalcom-missionwhichacts asa centre forpro-vidingtechnicalassistanceandcapacitybuilding to its14memberstates,whichare the Arab countries ofwestern Asia,alongwithEgypt,andSudanwhichhaverecentlyjoinedESCWA.ItsheadquartersareattheUNHouseinBeirut,Lebanon.

Within the Economic Development andGlobalisationDivision(EDGD)atUNES-CWA,theTransportationTeamconductsstudieson land, air andmaritime trans-port covering the ESCWA region. TheCommittee on Transportation organisesanannualmeetingforrepresentativesofthememberstatesandexpertsintrans-portissues,anditformulatesstrategiesto

developthetransportsystemanditsvari-ousmodes through setting agreementswhich member states should ratify andadopt. The annual Committee meetingalso follows progress in developing thetransportationsystemsinmemberstatesinaccordancewith theagreements set.The transport committee participates inestablishing and formulating prioritiesforworkprogrammesandmedium-termplansandmonitorsdevelopmentswithinthe transportsector inESCWAmemberstatesand theprogressachieved in theworkoftheESCWAsecretariatontrans-port sector matters. UN ESCWA alsoensures that member states participateininternationalandregionalconferencesand coordinatesmember states, effortsrelated to the implementation of resolu-tionsandrecommendations.

OrganisationofIslamicConference

The Organisation of Islamic Conference(OIC)wasestablishedon25September1969asan intergovernmentalorganisa-tion representing the collective voice ofthe Muslim world across the globe, toprotecttheinterestsoftheMuslimworldwhile promoting international peace. Ithad30 foundingmembers and today itnumbersare57nationsover fourconti-nents.ItspermanentheadquartersareinJeddah,KingdomofSaudiArabia.

The OIC has established the IslamicCivil AviationCouncil (ICAC) topromotegreater commercial and economic col-laboration among member states. TheICACactstospeedupthecreationoftheinstitutional mechanisms necessary forsuchactivities.Moreprecisely,theCoun-cilreviewsthedevelopmentofcivilavia-tionamongmemberstatestostrengthentheir relations and conducts necessary

actions to attain and promote commonregulationsinthetechnicalandeconomicfieldofairtransport.Italsoconsidersanyspecialproblemsarisinginthisfield.

To attain these objectives in memberstates,theCouncilconsiders(1)achiev-ingmodalitiesofexchangeofinformation,technicalknow-howand trainingoppor-tunitiesavailableamongmemberstates,(2)establishingairservicesandimprovingexistingairnavigation,(3)effectivelyutilis-ing existingpassenger,goodsandmailcapacitiesoftheairlines,(4)coordinatingand harmonising air services, freedomsof air and tariff policies, (5) cooperationbetween national airlines, (6) fosteringeconomic growth of air transport, and(7)utilisingthecivilaviationresourcesofmemberstatestotheirmaximumcapac-ity.

4 9



TheLeagueofArabStates(LAS)isare-gional intergovernmental organisation,establishedon22March1945betweensixArabstates,namelyEgypt,Iraq,Jor-dan, Lebanon, Kingdom of Saudi Ara-bia, and Syria and Yemenwhich joinedthe league on 5May 1945. Currently itincludes the 22 Arab countries whichare, in addition to theabovementionedstates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman,Libya,Tunisia,Algeria,Morocco,Sudan,Djibouti,Somalia,andComoros.Itsper-manentheadquartersareinCairo,Egypt.ThemaintargetofLASisto“drawclosertherelationsbetweenmemberstatesandcoordinate collaboration between them,tosafeguardtheirindependenceandsov-ereignty,andtoconsiderinageneralway

theaffairsandinterestsoftheArabcoun-tries”.LASdesignsandsetsprogrammesofpolitical,economic,socialandculturalperspectives to enhance and promotethe interestsof itsmemberstates.ThusitactsasaforumforArabstateswheretheycancoordinatetheirpolicypositionsand formulateplans topromotemattersofcommoninterestandconcerns,alongwithtakingactioninsettlingdisputesandlimitingconflictsamongArabcountries.

FieldsofactionatLASalso focusonfi-nancial and economic affairs, includingtradeandcustoms,currency,agricultureand industry; transport including roads,railways, air and maritime, telefax andmail;inadditiontoculturalaffairs;nation-

alityaffairs;andsocialandhealthaffairs.

TheLeagueofArabStateshascreatedaCouncilofArabMinistersofTransportasa forumforArabgovernmentstosetpolicyrecommendationsatthejointArablevel pertaining to developingmodes oftransportationintheArabworld.

TheCouncilaimstopromotefurtherArabcooperationinthefieldsoftransportation,particularlybysettingjointArabtransportstrategies,andprojectsandprogrammestoimplementthesestrategies.TheCoun-cil is responsible for promoting furtherdevelopmentandmodernisationoftrans-portationmodesbetweentheArabcoun-triesinordertofacilitatebetterandmore

efficientcommunicationandconnectionsintheregion,andtofacilitateeasierandcheaper transport of passengers andgoods.Inthisrespect,theCouncilraisesits recommendations to the EconomicandSocialCounciloftheLeague.Italsoactstopromotefurthercoordinationandcooperation on transportation betweenArabstates,andactstoharmoniselegis-lationandregulationsrelatedtotranspor-tationbetweenArabstates.

LeagueofArabStates

5 0 RegionalTransportPolicy

CouncilofArabEconomicUnity

TheCouncilofArabEconomicUnion(CAEU),whichactsundertheumbrellaoftheLeagueofArabStates(LAS),hasembarkeduponitsmissionofpushingforwardthemarchofArabeconomicunitybyholdingitsfirstsessioninCairoinJune1964,asthebodyinchargeofmanag-ing and realising theArabEconomicUnityAgreement(AEUA).UnderthisAgreement,theCAEUwasestablishedasapermanentbodytosupervisetheimplementationthere-of, i.e., to realise inter-Arab economic unity, providedthat theCAEU shall, once being established, developapracticalplanfortheimplementationphasesandde-terminethelegislative,administrativeandtechnicalpro-ceduresofeachphase,whilepayingheedtotheinter-ests of the contracting countries without prejudice totheAgreement’sobjectives.TheCAEUshallalsosubmititsdecisions in this respect to thegovernmentsof thecontractingcountries,tobeadoptedinaccordancewiththeappliedconstitutionalprinciplesineachofthem.TheCAEUmembercountriesshallbeobligedtoundertakethedecisionsoftheCAEU.Since its establishment and the practicing of it’smis-sionasof1964theCAEUhasbeenworkingtoachieveArabeconomicintegrationtowardstheaspiredgoalofan Arab economic unity. The CAEU has been greatlyconcernedwithall theproceduresandstudies relatedtosuchintegrationandthedifferentfieldsthereof.Thesefieldsinclude, interalia,theestablishmentandsupportofspecialisedtypicalArabfederations.Duringtheperiod(1971-2004), thenumberofsuch federationsamount-

edto34workinginvariousproductionfieldsaswellasserviceinfrastructures.Theyconstituteeffectivefedera-tions,witheachconstitutinganArabhouseofexpertiseinitsfield.UndertheumbrellaoftheCAEU5federationsservetopromoteeconomic integrationand furthercooperationbetween governments and non-governmental entitiesto develop the transport sector in the Arabworld. Allthetransportentitieswhichareoff-springsofthecouncilserveasatooltoexecutetherelevanttransportpolicylaiddownbytheCouncilofArabMinistersofTransport.Thesespecialisedorganisationsinclude:

• ArabUnionofLandTransport• ArabUnionofRailways• ArabSeaPortsFederation• ArabFederationofChambersofShipping• ArabFederationofShipping

Therearetwoothertransportentitieswhichaimatpro-motingtransportbetweenArabStatesbutwhichactdi-rectlywithintheframeworkoforincooperationwiththeLeagueofArabStates.Theseare:

• ArabAirCarriersOrganisation• ArabCivilAviationCommission

ArabUnionofLandTransport

TheArabUnionofLandTransport(AULT)isaspecialisedcivilassociationofArabfirms,institutions,cooperativesandotherbusinessesworkinginthefieldoflandtrans-port, along with other Arab unions, chambers, syndi-catesandtrainingcentresspecialisedinmattersoflandtransport.Itincludesmembersfrom13Arabcountries,namelyJordan,UnitedArabEmirates,Bahrain,Tunisia,KingdomofSaudiArabia,Syria,Iraq,Palestine,Kuwait,Lebanon,Libya,EgyptandYemen.Itwasestablishedin1976; itspermanentheadquartersare inAmman,Jor-dan.AULT’smainobjective is tocoordinatetheeffortsof itsmembersindevelopingthelandtransportsectorinallArabcountries,bypromoting itsoperational effi-ciencyandexpandingitsscopeofactivities.Italsopro-videsassistanceto itsmemberstodevelop intra–Arabtransport of individuals and goods, to facilitate transittransport,andtoconnecttheirlandtransportfleetsandmodernisetheirroadnetworks.

These objectives are fulfilled by AULT’s efforts to usenewtechnologiesinlandtransportandfurtherdevelopthem.SinceitsestablishmentAULThasexecutedasetofactivitiessuchasconductingresearchstudiesinthefieldoftransport,publishingaguideonArablandtrans-port, providing technical assistance to members, ex-ecutingnewtransportprojectsandexpandingexistingones, solving technical and transport problems facingit’smembers,harmonisingandcoordinatingregulations,legislations, terms and documentation related to landtransport,preparingatableofdistancesbetween

5 1


ArabcitiesandamapofroadsinArabcountries,inad-dition to developing the necessary human resourcesskills through training programmes. It also calls for aunifiedArabagreement toorganise land transportbe-tweenArabcountries,asacomplement to theTransitTransportAgreement.AULTalsosupportscreatinganInternationalArabCompanyforLandTransportandco-operateswithotherspecialisedPan-Arab,regionalandinternationalorganisationsinthefieldoftransport.

AmongthemostrecentactivitiesandachievementsofAULTare:

- Draftingamultilateralconventionfororganisingthe landtransportofpassengersamongstArabcoun-tries. The draft has been approved by the League ofArabStatesandisnowintheprocessofratificationbyArabcounties.- EstablishingadatabaseforroadsafetyinArabcountriesandanalysingavailabledata.- DraftingamultilateralconventionfororganisingthecarriageofgoodsamongArabcountries.Thedraftwasdiscussedby theTechnicalLandTransportCom-mitteeintheLeagueofArabStatesinApril2009.

ArabUnionofRailways

TheArabUnionofRailwaysisacivilassociationofArabcompaniesandenterprisesworking in thefieldof rail-waystransport.Itwasestablishedin1979anditshead-quartersareinAleppo,Syria.TheArabUnionofRailwayshas10Arabmembercoun-tries,andwascreatedundertheArabEconomicUnityCouncil.Itaimstocoordinatetheeffortsofitsmembers

and assures cooperation between them to guaranteethepromotionandmodernisationoftherailwaysectorintheArabworld.TheunionalsofocusesonpromotingmoreefficientservicesoftherailwaysectorintheArabworld, throughwidening thescopeofactivitiesof rail-waytransportationnetworksinArabcountriesaswellaslinkingthemtointernationalrailwaynetworks,inordertofacilitate cheapandefficient transportationof passen-gersandgoods.TheArabUnionofRailwaysconductsstudiesabouttheprincipalrailwayaxesinArabcountries.Italsoorganisesspecialseminarsandmeetingsandperiodicalscientificsymposiaeverytwoyears,whichdealwithmajorprob-lemsand impediments facing railway transportationatbothArabandinternationallevels.Uptonow,13sym-posiahavebeenorganisedinthememberstatesoftheunion. The union also organises professional trainingcoursestodevelopandupgradetheskillsofstaffandpublishesregularperiodicalsandguidesabouttherail-wayssector intheArabworld,aswellaspublishingageneralvocabularyoftherailwayterms.

ArabSeaPortsFederation

TheArabSeaPortsFederation(ASPF)isanArabspe-cialisedfederationofArabcompaniesandenterprises,authorities,councils,andadministrationsworkinginthefieldofseaportsfacilitationintheArabworld.Itworksunder the auspices of the Council of Arab EconomicUnityattheLeagueofArabStates. Itwasestablishedin1976,withitspermanentheadquartersinAlexandria,Egypt.

TheFederationaimsatthecoordinationofeffortsofits

members pertaining to the development of the activi-tiesofseaportsinArabstates.Itgivesassistanceandsupportto itsmembersinvarioustechnicalfields,andencouragesitsmembercompaniestounitetheireffortsand positionswhen dealingwith other parties. It alsoplaysanarbitrageroleuponrequest,andsetstrainingprogrammesforitsmembers.Moreover,itpromotesthecreationofjointArabcompaniesinthefieldofseaportsandsupportstheirproposalsattheArabEconomicUni-tyCouncilandotherconcernedAraborganisations.

ArabFederationofChambersofShipping

TheArabFederationofChambersofShipping (AFCS)wasestablishedon24July2002andwasapprovedon18December2002by theCouncil ofArabEconomicUnitytoworkunderitsauspices,pursuanttoresolutionNo.1201/76D.ItspermanentheadquartersareinAlex-andria,Egypt.Itsmembersareeitheroperating,whicharechambersworkinginthefieldofmaritimeshipping;oraffiliated,whicharespecialisedfederationsofcompa-niesandestablishmentsandofficesworkinginthefield;oraresupervising,suchastheCouncilofArabEconom-icUnityandotherArabnationsspecialisedinthefield.

This Federation gives support and assistance to itsmembers inareas related toharmonisingandunifyingshippingconceptsandmodernisingworkingsystems,andcomplementingefforts toact asa single entity inthe relations with other foreign organisations. It alsopromotes the efficiency and skills of the human re-sourcesinthefieldofmaritimetransportanditsrelatedservices,inadditiontopublishingperiodicalsandcon-ducting seminars onmaritime transport and shipping.


5 2

ArabFederationofChambersofShipping

TheArabFederationofChambersofShipping (AFCS)wasestablishedon24July2002andwasapprovedon18December2002by theCouncil ofArabEconomicUnitytoworkunderitsauspices,pursuanttoresolutionNo.1201/76D.ItspermanentheadquartersareinAlex-andria,Egypt.Itsmembersareeitheroperating,whicharechambersworkinginthefieldofmaritimeshipping;affiliated,which are specialised federationsof compa-niesandestablishmentsandofficesworkinginthefield;orsupervising,suchas theCouncilofArabEconomicUnityandotherArabnationsspecialisedinthefield.

This Federation gives support and assistance to itsmembers inareas related toharmonisingandunifyingshipping concepts andmodernising working systemsandcomplementingeffortstoactasasingleentityinre-lationswithotherforeignorganisations,andtopromotetheefficiencyandskillsofhumanresourcesinthefieldofmaritimetransportanditsrelatedservices,inadditionto publishing periodicals and conducting seminars onmaritimetransportandshipping.JordanAviation,AfriqiyahAirways,EtihadAirways,AirArabiaandAirCairo.

AACO aims to upgrade the economic environmentforairlineoperationsandtopromotehighsafetystan-dards for air carriers and consumer-driven services. Italsoaimstoprovideacost-effectiveandahighqualityframework for the development of human resources,andtoestablishjointprojectstopromotethesynergyofinteractionbetweenmembers.Alongwithjointprojects,theareasofactivitiesoftheAACOincludecoordination,

databaseandinteractivepublications,andinternationalrepresentation.

ArabFederationofShipping

TheArabFederationofShippingisacivilentitywhichwasestablishedin1979,byvirtueofadecreeoftheCouncilofArabEconomicUnityNo.745/25of7/6/1979.It in-cludes10memberstates,namelyJordan,Tunisia,King-domofSaudiArabia,Syria,Iraq,Palestine,Libya,EgyptandMorocco.ItsheadquartersarelocatedinBaghdad,Iraq.TheFederationaimsatsynergisingmembers’ef-fortstowardsachievingcooperation.Thiscomesinad-dition toproviding themwithsupport to improveArabmaritimetransportandtoensureitsflourishingastotheefficiencyofoperationandexpansionofactivitieswhichcould, in turn, serve development plans and facilitatepassengerandgoodstransportamongArabcountriesandbetweenArabandforeigncountries.

Forthepurposeofachievingsuchobjectives,theFed-erationactstoestablishcooperationamongFederationmembers tomake the best use of the Arab shippingfleetsforpassengersandgoods,towidenthescopeofitsusageandtocoordinateeffortstolinktheArabworldwithacomprehensivemaritimetransportnetwork.Itpro-videssupportandassistancetomembersindevelopingand improvingworkmechanisms to achieve the besteconomicoutcomeandexchangeexperiencesamongmembers,acquiringcutting-edgetechnologies,prepar-ing feasibility studies for plannedprojects andprovid-ingrecommendations,andestablishingnewprojectsorexpandingthealreadyexistingonesinawaythatmeetstheneedsintheArabworld.

It also (1) coordinates, develops and unifies systems,legislationandtermsinvariousfieldsofbusinessrelatedtomaritimetransportincludingtheinstrumentsinvolved;(2)coordinatesandunifiesmaritimetransporttariffs;(3)urgesitsmemberstohandleinternationalaffairsasonegroupaswell as in relationswithotherparties; (4) ra-tionalisesdepartmentsandcreatescompetenthumanresourcesworkingasonegroupinthefieldofmaritimetransportand relatedfields; (5)assists itsmembers inensuring their needs concerning materials, tools andrequirements; (6)encouragesitsmemberstoestablishArabjointcompaniesincooperationwiththeCAEU;(7)carriesout the tasks thereof in cooperationwithArabandinternationalfederationsandorganisationsworkinginthefieldofmaritimetransportandotheractivitiesre-latedparticularly to theArabSeaPortsFederation; (8)issuespublications,journals,andperiodicalsinordertoachievetheFederation’sobjectivesandpurposes;and(9) arbitrates disputes or participates in other arbitra-tionsuponrequest.

ArabAirCarriersOrganisation

TheArabAirCarriersOrganisation(AACO)wasestab-lishedin1965undertheLeagueofArabStates.Itactsasaregionalassociationof24airlinesbasedinArabCoun-tries.Itsmembersare:EgyptAir,SaudiArabianAirlines,MiddleEastAirlines,IraqiAirways,SyrianArabAirlines,SudanAirways,Tunisair,GulfAir, TransMediterraneanAirways,AirAlgerie,KuwaitAirways,RoyalAirMaroc,YemenAirways,RoyalJordanian,LibyanAirlines,Emir-ates,OmanAir,QatarAirways,PalestinianAirlines,


5 3



ArabCivilAviationCommission

TheAgreementestablishingtheArabCivilAviationCom-mission (ACAC) was set within the framework of theLeagueofArabStates to strengthencooperation andcoordinationandthedevelopmentofCivilAviationbe-tweenArabstates.TheACACwasthusestablishedasanArabspecialisedorganisationworkingundertheaus-picesofLAS in1996and itspermanentheadquartersareinMorocco.Atpresent,16Arabstatesaremembersof the ACAC, namely Jordan, United Arab Emirates,Bahrain,Tunisia,KingdomofSaudiArabia,Sudan,Syr-ia,Iraq,Oman,Palestine,Qatar,Lebanon,Libya,Egypt,MoroccoandYemen,whiletheremainingstatesareintheprocessofratifyingtheagreement.

TheACACaimstosetaframeworkforjointArabeffortstosetageneralplanning todevelopandpromote thesafetyof intra-Arabcivil aviation, to increasecoopera-tion and coordination betweenmember states and toharmoniseArabdoctrinesofcivilaviation.ItalsoactstodevelopandmoderniseArabcivilaviationtocopewiththeneedforasafeandregulatedArabaviationsystem.

To fulfil itsgoals, theboardof theACACconducts re-searchandstudiesonalleconomic,regulatory,legisla-tive,technicalandsecurityrelatedaspectsofintra-Arabcivil aviation. It alsocoordinates issues related to jointArabinterests,andpromotescomplementaritybetweenArabairtransportinstitutions.Itkeepstrackofnewtech-niquesincivilaviationandpromotesupgradingtheArabcivilaviationsystem,andactstoharmonisecivilaviation

legislation betweenmember states. It also acts to fa-cilitateexchangeofinformationandcoordinatestrainingprogrammes,etc.

The ACAC coordinateswith the Arab Air Carriers Or-ganisation (AACO) to set a unified Arab policy for airtransport, to restructure the air transport system, tominimisebarrierstothefreedomofairtransportandtoincreasethenumberofflightsbetweenArabcountries.ThiscoordinationalsoaimsatencouragingArabcarri-erstocooperateinissuesrelatedtoexchangeofspareparts, aircraftmaintenance, electronic reservation sys-tems, adopting joint codes, marketing synergies, etc.Coordinationalsosupportscooperationinresearchandpromoting better air aviation services through execut-ingair aviation systems via the satellite the expansionof the frameworkof cooperation tocover air aviationsafetyservicesandtheunificationofcivilaviationlegisla-tionandregulationintheArabstates.

GulfCooperationCouncil

TheGulfCooperationCouncil(GCC)wasestablishedin1981,asanintergovernmentalorganisationamongthesixGulfcountriesoftheArabpeninsula,namelyKuwait,Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, United ArabEmiratesandBahrain. ItspermanentheadquartersareinRiyadh,SaudiArabia.

Themajorobjectivesof theGCCare toachievecoor-dination and integration among its member countriesineconomic,socialandcultural fields,with theaimof

reachingaGulfeconomicunity. ItsGeneralSecretariatthusacts toharmoniseregulationsamong itsmembercountries in the fieldsof (1) financeandeconomicaf-fairs,(2)trade,customsandtransport,(3)educationandculturalaffairs,(4)socialandhealthaffairs,(5)advertise-mentandtourism,and(6)legislationandadministration.Italso targetsareasofaction includingpromotingsci-entificandtechnologicaladvancementinthesectorsofmanufacturingandmining,agricultureandanimalherds,aswell as establishing joint scientific researchcentresandpromotingpartnershipwiththeprivatesector.

Inthefieldoftransport, theGCCmemberstateshavesetvariouscodestoregulateajointtransportationsys-tem, in order to facilitate transportation of goods andpassengersbetweenthem.TheGCCdirectorateestab-lishedasystemfortransittransportacrosstheGCC,asanoutcomeoftheUnifiedEconomicAgreementwhichcoordinatestheeconomicandtraderelationsbetweentheGCCmemberstates.ThissystemclarifiesthevitalissuesrelatedtotransitacrosstheGCC,whichincludesmutualcustomsproceduresandfacilitationwithintransitagreements.Thus,thissystemallowsforthetransportof goods in vehicles across the lands of thememberstates,withoutfacinganybarriersordiscriminationto-wardsthetypesofthesetransportationvehicles.


International Road Transport Union PermanentDelegationtotheMiddleEast&Region

TheIRUPermanentDelegationtotheMiddleEast&Re-gionwasestablishedon1May2005inIstanbul.

Thedelegationwas created to takebetter account ofimportant trade developments resulting from the eco-nomicchangesfollowingtheglobalisationandliberalisa-tionprocessinseveralcountriesintheregion.

ThePermanentDelegationhasthemissiontocooper-atewithregionalandinternationalorganisationsaswellas IRUMember Associations and national authorities.Itsmissionconsistsofdevelopingand facilitating roadtransport at the crossroads of continents and regionsstretching from Turkey in Europe to Egypt in AfricathroughoutthewholeMiddleEastregiontothefastestgrowingworldeconomiesinSouth-EastAsia.

MainObjectives

-topromotetheroleofroadtransportintheMiddleEastandRegiontogetherwithIRUMemberAssociationsac-cordingtotheglobalIRUpolicy;

-To support the identificationandeliminationofphysi-calandnon-physicalbarrierstoroadtransportthroughthe support of the activities ofUNbodieswith regardtotheexpansionandproperimplementationoftheUN-

ECE transport related conventions and agreements intheregion;

-To build general awareness of the regional need forand the global importance of internationally recogn-isedprofessionaltrainingwithharmonisedinternationalstandardsasprovidedbytheIRUAcademyforabetter-performing industrytothebenefitoftheeconomyandsocietyasawhole.

SinceitscreationthePermanentDelegationhasestab-lished a successful network consisting of internationalandpan-Araborganisations,UNagenciesandgovern-mentsintheregionandisworkingincooperationwiththesedifferentinstitutionsanditsMemberAssociationstopromoteanddeveloptradeandtransport in there-gion.

ToserveitsobjectivesthePermanentDelegationorgan-isesarangeofeventsandactivitiesincooperationwithitspartnersintheregion.Theseactivitiesincludethefol-lowing:

-AMembersmeeting is held annually for thepurposeofdiscussingfutureactivitiesandexchangingideasandinformationwithMemberAssociationsaboutsubstantialroadtransportissuesintheregion;

-ThePermanentDelegationparticipatesatUNmeetingsandevents in the regionsuchas theUN InterregionalSeminarsorganisedinCairoandAbuDhabi;

-AMemorandumofUnderstandingwassignedby thePermanent Delegation and the Arab Union of LandTransport (AULT) in February 2007, focusing primarilyonimprovingprofessionalroadtransporttrainingintheArabcountriesthroughtheIRUAcademy;

-An IRU Delegation recently visited the headquartersof the League of ArabState (LAS) and TheArabAd-ministrative Development Organisation (ARADO) anddiscussed transport issues in the region and areas ofpotentialfuturecooperation.

5 5



Intergovernmenta l Transport AgreementsW ith inTheRegion

Decree of the Arab Agreement toRegulate Passenger Land Trans-portinbetweenandacrosstheArabCountries

ThisagreementwasratifiedbytheBoardof the League of Arab States in 2006.Bahrain, Tunisia, Syria, Palestine, Libyaand Yemen have signed it. This agree-ment aims ro organise passenger roadtransport between and across Arabcountries and promoting the develop-mentofeconomicandsocialbondsbe-tweenArabcountries.Italsoaimsatpro-moting tourism between Arab countriesandremovingbarriersfacinginternationalroadmovementofpassengersbetweenArabcountries.

The passengers transport agreementcoversthemovementofpassengers

(public, private, tourism) on the roadsacrossmembercountries.Itensuresthatvehicles registered inmember countriesabidetoitsbylawsbynotexceedingper-mittedaxial loads,dimensions,weights,and the number of passengers allowedpassingalongtheroadnetworksinmem-berstates,withoutpre-approvalfromtheconcerned authorities. Moreover, feesand taxes outstanding at border cross-ings are collected according to the re-latedbilateralagreementssignedbytheArabstates.Atechnicalcommitteecontrolstheexecu-tionofthisagreement,andiscomposedofrepresentativesofmemberstatesandthe Arab Union for Land Transport. Asdesignated by the Internal Code of theCounciloftheArabMinistersofTranspor-tation, thiscommitteeconductsperiodi-cal meetings and suggests recommen-

dations to solve problems arising fromtheexecutionofthisagreement.

ESCWAAgreements

As part of the promotion of trade andtransport facilitation, ESCWAdevelopedin 1999 the Integrated Transport Sys-tem for the Arab Mashreq (ITSAM)asaregional transportnetwork.Thisaims tomodernisetheroadnetworkintheregionandtobuildanetworkofrailwayswhichconnectstheArabMashreqwithEuropeandtheArabGulfregion, inordertore-ducethecostsoftransportofpassengersandgoodsandthusactivateregionalin-tegration.Inthisregard,amapofthema-jorroads,railways,seaportsandairportswhichareofinternationalimportancewasthuscreated.ITSAMalsoincludesthere-activationoftheHijazRailwaybyadopt-

ingnewandmoderntechnologies.

To further develop ITSAM, ESCWAworked on three tracks, which includethe regional transport network, alongwith the association framework systemand the methodological framework fora policy analysis. As an outcome of IT-SAM, ESCWA member states adoptedtheAgreement on International Roads in the Arab Mashreqin2001,wherebytheendofMay2002,tenESCWAcountrieshavedsignedandonecountryhad rati-fied,andtheAgreement on International Railways in the Arab Mashreq in 2002,withninesignatorymemberstates.

TheArabstateshaveengagedinseveralbilateralandmultilateralagreementstoregulatethetransportofpassengersandgoodsbetweenthemviathedifferentmodesoftransport,withtheaimtopromotefurtherintegrationamongthem.Themajoragreementsarestatedbelow.


InternationalAgreementonRoadsintheArabMashreq

Thisagreementcoverstheroads in theArabMashreqwhichareconsideredtobeofinternationalimportancefortransportofgoodsandpassengersandfortourism,and thus must be given priority in national strategiesandplans forconstruction,maintenanceanddevelop-mentoftheroadsnetworksinthememberstates.Itthusconsidersdeveloping these roadnetworks to increasecooperationbetweenmembercountries in the lightofincreasing trafficneeds in the future, topromotemoreinter-regionaltradeandtourism,andtoassuremeetingemerging environmental requirements. Member coun-triesmustabideby thisagreementuponbuildingnewroadsandinupgradingtheexistingroads.

InternationalAgreementonRailways in theArabMashreq

Thisagreementgivespriority to the railwaynetwork inmember countries in the formulation of national plansandstrategiesrelatedtotheconstruction,maintenanceandthedevelopmentofthesenetworks.Italsoensuresthecarryingoutof feasibilitystudiesbytheconcernedstatestosetthealignmentofnewroutesandlines.

Theagreementwasputintoactionbasedontheparties’concernstohavearailwaynetworkintheArabMashreqthattakesintoconsiderationthemattersofconstructionand running costs, safety, speed, regularity, and per-sonalcomfort.Theagreementwasformulatedfromtheneedforanefficientrailwaynetworkbetweenmembercountries to copewith the rising transport needs andtheimportancetofacilitatepassengerandgoodsmove-ment,andtoassuretheprotectionoftheenvironment.Thus,itactstoincreasetheinterchangeoftourismandtradeintheArabMashreq,aspartofpromotinggreaterArabregionalintegration.

MemorandumofUnderstandingonCooperationinMaritimeTransportintheArabMashreq

ESCWA also established a memorandum of under-standingtopromotecooperation inmaritimetransportintheArabMashreq,wherememberstatescoordinatewitheachotherinmattersofmaritimetransportbyhar-monisingtheirindividualpoliciesrelatedtoregionalandinternationalmaritimetransportandtoseaports,andtoenhancetheefficiencyofmaritimeservicesasanenginetofurthereconomicandsocialintegrationintheregion.Thisagreementaimstosetoutandexecuteharmonisedmaritimepoliciestoassurethesustainabilityofcommer-cialshippingfleetsofmemberstatesandtostrengthencooperationbetweenmemberstatesattheregionalandsub-regional levels. It alsoaims toharmonise theper-spectivesofmemberstates inmattersof joiningotherregional and international maritime agreements andconventions.

Member states shall conduct regular discussions tounify their positions vis-à-vis regional and internationalmaritimetransportpolicies,etc.Theyshallpromotefur-therbilateralandmultilateralcooperationbetweenseatransportauthorities,andconductstudiesinthisregard,andworktopromoteanactiveroleofthenationalmari-timeinstitutions,aswellasencouragejointactivitiesofcarriers’ unions and agencies, national shipping lines,national and Arab shipping associations and unions,andmaritimetrainingsandresearchcentres.

5 7



As part of the efforts to build an integrated transport system between itsmember states, ESCWA hasalsodraftedaconventiontoorganiseandregulateinternationalmultimodaltransportofgoodsintheArabMashreq.Thisistakingplaceduringaperiodwitnessingahugeprogressinthetechnologiesofinternationaltransportofgoods,asisreflectedintheincreasingutilisationoflargecontainersinmorethanonemodeoftransportation.Thus,internationalmultimodaltransportofgoodshasbecomeamajorcomponentaffectingtheefficiencyoftheflowoftradeamongtheArabstatesandwiththeworld.

ThedraftConventiononInternationalMultimodalTransportofGoodsintheArabMashreq,preparedbyES-CWAin2007,definesinternationalmultimodaltransportas“theprocessoftransportinggoodsbymorethanonemodeoftransportunderonetransportcontractandonetransportdocument,forwhichoneperson(theforwardingagent)shallhaveresponsibilityfromthetimeofreceivingthegoodsinonecountryuntiltheyaredeliveredinanothercountry.”

Theconventiondraftspecifies,amongothers,theinternationalmultimodaltransportdocument,theliabilityoftheinternationalmultimodaltransportforwardingagent,freightcharges,therighttocontrolthegoods,andlitigationproceduresandarbitrage.

Alsowithinthesamecontext,theLeagueofArabStatesandUN-ESCWAapprovedtheconclusionofthe“AgreementonMultimodalTransportofGoodsamongtheArabCountries”toreflecttheirjointeffortsinpro-motingmultimodaltransportamongallArabcountries.

ConventiononInternationalMultimodalTransportofGoodsintheArabMashreq


UNECEConvent ions

TheUnitedNationsEconomicCommissionforEurope(UNECE)InlandTransportCommitteecreatedtheframeworkforintergovernmentalcooperationtofacilitateinternationaltransportalongwith improvingitssafetyanditsenvironmentalperformance.Theframeworkincludes57internationalagreementsandconventionsandtheseprovidetheinternationallegalandtechnicalframeworkforglobaldevelopmentofinternationalroad,rail,inlandwaterwayandcombinedtransport.

Italsoincludescoherentinternationalinfrastructurenetworks,uniformrulesandregulations,anduniformandsimplifiedborder-crossingprocedures,withtheaimtoensureahighlevelofefficiency,safety,andenvironmentalprotectionintransport.

TheUNECEconventionsontransportareconcernedwithissuesoftransportinfrastructure,roadtrafficandroadsignsandsignals,roadvehicles,legalinstrumentsrelatedtoroadtransport,inlandwatertransport,bordercrossingfacilitation,transitbyroad,transportofdangerousgoodsandtransportofperishablefoodstuffs.

Table12showsthestatusoftheUNECEtransportagreementsandconventionsintheArabworld.

5 9


Table12:UNECETransportAgreementsandConventionsStatusat27January2009


Alg

eri

a

Ba

hra

in

Eg

yp

t

Ira

q

Jo

rda

n

Ku

wa

it

Le

ba

no

n

Mo

roc

co

Sa

ud

i

Su

da

n

Syri

an

Ara

b R

ep

ub

lic

Tu

nis

ia

Un

ite

d A

rab

Em

ira

tes

1 Construction Traffic Arteries, 1950

2 E Road Network (AGR), 1975

3 E Rail Network (AGC), 1985

4 E Comb. Tr. Network (AGTC), 1991

5 Protocol Inl. Nav. To AGCT, 1997

6 E Inl. Water Network (AGN), 1996

7 Road Traffic, 1949 X X X X X X X X

8 Road Traffic, 1968 X X X X X

9 Protocol on Road Signs & Signals, 1949 X S X

10 Road Signs & Signals, 1968 X X X X X X

11 Suppl. 1968 Convention Road Traffic, 1971

12 Suppl. 1968 Conv. Road Signs & Signals, 1971

13 Weights and Dimensions, 1950

14 Suppl. 1949 Conv.and Protocol, 1950

15 Road Markings, 1957

16 Protocol Road Markings, 1973

17 Issue and Validity of Driving Permits (APC) X

18 Vehicles Regulations, 1958 X

19 Techn. Inspect. Vehicles, 1997

20 Global Vehicles Regulations, 1998 X

21 Work of Crews Int. Road Transport (AETR), 1970

22 Taxation Priv. Road Vehic. , 1956

23 Taxation Road Passenger Vehic., 1956

24 Taxation Road Goods. Vehic., 1956 X

25 Contract Road Goods Transport (CMR), 1956 X X X X X

26 Protocol on CMR, 1978 X X X

27 Add'l Protocol on CMR, (e-CMR) 2008

28 Contract Pass. & Lugg. Rd. Transp. (CVR), 1973

29 Protocol on CVR, 1978

30 Econ. Regulat. Road. Transp., 1954

Vehic

les

Oth

er

Leg

al I

nstr

um

ents

Rela

ted

to

Ro

ad

Tra

nsp

ort

In

frastr

uctu

re n

etw

ork

sR

oad

tra

ffic a

nd

ro

ad

safe

ty

Alg

eri

a

Ba

hra

in

Eg

yp

t

Ira

q

Jo

rda

n

Ku

wa

it

Le

ba

no

n

Mo

roc

co

Sa

ud

i A

rab

ia

Su

da

n

Syri

an

Ara

b R

ep

ub

lic

Tu

nis

ia

Un

ite

d A

rab

Em

ira

tes

31 Collision Inl. Nav., 1960

32 Registr. Inl. Nav. Vessels, 1965

33 Measurement Inl. Nav. Vessels, 1966

34 Liability Vessel Owners (CLN), 1973

35 Protocol to CLN, 1978

36 Contract Inl. Nav. Pass. & Lugg. (CVN), 1976

37 Protocol on CVN, 1978

38 Touring Facilities, 1954 X X X X X X X

39 Protocol Touring Facilities, 1954 X X X X X X X

40 Temp. Import. Priv. Road Vehicles, 1954 X X X X X X X X X

41 TIR Convention, 1959 X X X

42 TIR Convention, 1975 X X X X X X X X

43 Temp. Import. Aircraft & Boats, 1956 X

44 Temp. Import. Commerc. Vehicles, 1956 X X

45 Cross. Front. Pass. Bagg. Rail, 1952

46 Cross. Front. Goods Rail, 1952

47 Spare Parts Europ. Wagons, 1958

48 Customs Container Convention, 1956 X

49 Customs Container Convention, 1972 X X X

50 Customs Treatment Pallets, 1960

51 Harmoniz. Frontier Controls of Goods, 1982 X

52 Customs Pool Containers, 1994

53 Dang. Goods by Road (ADR), 1957 X X

54 Protocol to ADR, 1993

55 Liabil.Dang. Goods (CRTD), 1989 S

56 Dang. Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN), 2000

57 Perishable Foodstuffs (ATP), 1970 X X

TOTAL: 9 2 5 1 9 4 7 15 3 1 6 4 5

Dangero

us

good

s &

sp

ecia

l B

ord

er

cro

ssin

g facilita

tion

Inla

nd

nevig

ation

6 0

TheLeagueofArabStatesestablishedtheAgreementOrganising Transit Transport in Between Arab LeagueMemberStatestocoordinatetransittransportacrossitsmemberstates,incompliancewithitscontinuouseffortstopromotefurthereconomicandparticularlytradeinte-grationintheArabworld.

Thisagreementwasratifiedtocopewiththerecentde-velopmentsinintra-Arabtrade,asseenbythecontinu-ousincreaseintheflowofgoodsandthesizeoftradebetweenArabcountries,mostofwhich takeplaceviaroadnetworks, inaddition to themodernisationof theoperationalmodesofbordercrossings.

Thisagreementaimstofacilitateandsimplifyintra-Arabtrade operations, and thus to reduce its cost and in-creaseitscompetitiveness.Itthereforeactsasaunifiedlegalframeworkforcarriersandtheauthoritiesincharge.It encompasses the transportationof goods, personal

luggage and vehicles on roads, railways, and internalwaterroutesthroughthelandsofitsmemberstates.Italsoincludesthetransportofgoodsintheirtransittrans-portmode,as longasthistransport iscomprehensivei.e.startsandendsoutsidethetransitcountry.

TheArabtransitagreementissignificantforitsuseofacrossingdocumentoriginatinginthecountryofexportsinsteadofthevariouscustomsdocumentswhichusu-allyoriginateinthecountriesalongthetransitroute,asthe transportation vehiclespass through thecountrieswhicharemembersof theagreement.Thissingleuni-fieddocument is thususedatall stagesof the transitprocess.

Yetthereisacontinuousupdateandupgradeoftheline-itemsoftheArabtransitagreementduetotheincreasein the sizeof transit trade transporton theonehand,andthecontinuouscreationofnewmoreefficientand

easierroutesoftransittransportationontheotherhand.Withinthisframework,theEconomicandSocialCounciloftheLeagueofArabStatesrecentlytookadecisiontoassign theGeneralDirectorateof theLeague tostudythepotentialsofdevelopinganAgreement,particularlyonthefollowingfronts:transitfees,financialguaranteesrequirementsforthetransitprocess,technical featuresoftrucksandotherrelatedissues,administrativeproce-dures,themodeof follow-uponconflictsarisinguponexecution of the agreement and the mode of doingamendmentsonthetextoftheagreement.

Itisimportanttomentionthatthegoodsandvehiclesintransit transport under this agreement are not subjectto any taxes or fees, at the point of departure or thetransitofficepoints,whichexceedfourperthousandofthetotalvalueofthegoodsintransit,unlikethecaseoftransportationduringimporting,exporting,ortransiting.

ArabTransi t System


6 1


TheTIRSystemwascreatedtoregulatetheinternationaltransportofgoodsundercustomsseals.Itprovidesthemaximumfacilitationfortheinternationalmovementof goods under customs seals by pro-viding the requiredguarantees to transitcountries to cover the customs dutiesandtaxesatrisk.Thusitischaracterisedbythemutualrecognitionofcus-tomscontrolscarriedoutbythecustomsauthoritiesatthecustomsoffice(s)ofdepartureinthecountry(s)ofdeparture,whileintran-sit and throughout thejourney until both goodsandvehiclealongwiththeTIRCarnetarepresentedtothecustomsauthoritiesatthecustomsoffice(s)ofdestination.Inotherwords,usually no extra inspectiontakesplaceatthebordercrossingsoftheintermediarycountries,withintheinterna-tionalrouteofmovementofgoods.TheTIRConventionappliestothetrans-port of goods without intermediate re-loading in roadvehicles, combinationofvehiclesorincontainers,whichconformto the technical specifications and pro-cedures laid down in this Convention,by which when the goods are placed

and sealed in the load compartment ofthe road vehicle, no additional goodsor items canbe introducedor removedwithoutleavingobvioustraces.

TheTIRSystemprovidesseveralbenefitsintermsofthefacilitationoftransportandtrade,byreducingformalitiesanddelaysin transit and thus reducing transport

costs andby facilitating transitmovements through the appli-cation of standardised controls and documentation. Thus, theTIR System encourages thedevelopment of internationaltrade.

Moreprecisely,theTIRSystemprovides facilities to the trans-port industrybymovinggoodsacross international frontiers with minimum interference, re-

ducingdelaysandcostsoftransit,simpli-fyingandstandardisingdocuments,andeliminating the need to make customsguaranteedepositsattransitborders.

Asforcustomsauthorities,theTIRSys-temguarantees theduties and taxesatrisk during international transit move-mentsuptoUSD50,000.Itassuresthatonly legitimate transport operators are

permitted touseTIRCarnets,which in-creasesthesystem’ssecurity. Italsore-ducestheneedforphysicalinspectionofgoods in transit,and facilitatescustomscontrol and documentation, and usesinternal clearance points for export andimportwhichallowformoreefficientde-ploymentofcustomshumanresources.

TheTIRSystemensures the security ofthetransportofgoodsbythecreationofelectroniccontrolsforTIRCarnets,whichiscommonlyreferredtoastheSafeTIRSystem. By providing confirmation fromthe customs offices of destination ofthefinalorpartial terminationof theTIRCarnet,itenablesthecomparisonofthiselectronicdocumentationagainstthepa-per-basedterminationintheTIRCarnet.

TheTIRSystemalsoallowsforpre-arrivalinformation to be sent to customs au-thorities,freeofcharge,throughtheIRU’sTIR-EPD application, in conformity withtheWorldCustomsOrganisation’sSAFEFramework.

Withitsglobalcoverageandabovemen-tionedfeaturesandservices,theTIRSys-temistheonlytransit facilitationtool forfreeandsecuremovementofArabtradegoodsacrossthebordersinAsia,Europe

andAfrica.Therefore,manyArabStateshavealreadybecomeContractingPartiestothisConventionwhilemanyothersareexpressingseriousinterestindoingso.

The TIR System not only ensures asmoother flow of gods and hence inte-grationofmarkets,but isalsoanexcel-lent risk management tool for nationalcustomsadministrationswhichhelpsthepreventionoforganisedcrimeandillegaltrafficking of people and goods acrossbordersoftheTIRContractingParties.

T IRSystem


6 2

C o n c l u s i o n s O f T h e I R U S e c re t a r y G e n e r a l

Roadtransportinaliberalisedandglobalisedecon-omyhasbecomeanefficientandirreplaceablepro-ductiontool.Assuch,anypenaltyimposedonroadtransportisanevenbiggerpenaltyontradeandtheeconomy as a whole. Thanks to its flexibility andthequalityofserviceoffered,roadtransport,whichis accessible to everyone everywhere, remains thebestplacedtotakeonthechallengesofsustainabledevelopment while at the same time contributingto regional andglobal economicdevelopment andpeace.

Hence, the Arabic countries in Western Asia andNorthAfricacanandshould integrate theirecono-mieswithintheregionandtotheglobaleconomybyfurtherfacilitatinginternationalroadtransport.

ConclusionsOfTheIRUSecretaryGeneral

6 3


Benefitting from an increasing portion of worldtrade,themajorArabportsintheGulfregioncanonly seize the new opportunities of tremendousgrowth if they are supported by efficient, reliableand professional road transport services in theirhinterlands.

ItshouldbestressedthatroadtransportassuchwouldnotonlyservetheArabworldbutmoreoverthe global supply chain and act as a catalyst tointerconnecteverybusinessintheregiontoeverymajorworldmarket.

Inordertoachievethis,anappropriatelegalframe-work to effectively facilitate road transport, bothcross-borderandintransitbygivingequaloppor-tunitytoeveryoneeverywhere,isnecessaryinor-der tobenefiteconomicandsocialdevelopment.Moreover, the abolition of non-physical barriers,duetoburdensomeartificialandbureaucraticfor-malities,would also constitute amajor advance-ment.

However,realisationoftheseobjectivesrequiretheGovernmentstoadoptandshareacommonglob-al visionparticularly in the context of road trans-portfacilitationbyimplementingtheUnitedNationsroad transport conventions and international

agreements instead of bilateral or sub-regionalmeasuresandregulations.

In the international context but particularly in theArabworld,eveniftheeffectsofthefailureoftheincomplete Doha Round in December 2005 andJuly2006arenotyetquantifiable.Howevertoef-fectively facilitate global trade in road transport,there is no alternative than to implement the su-pra-national agreements on economic liberalisa-tion,whichhaveprovedtheirefficiency inseveralregionstotheworld.

The blockage of themultilateral agreements andtherecentburgeoningofbilateralfreetradeagree-mentsdemonstratethateveryStatewishestobet-tercontrolitsrelationswithitspartners.Evenso,inordertobenefitfromtheadvantagesofabilateralagreement,themultilateralsystemmustwork.Thebilateralagreementmustremainacomplementandnotbecomeasubstitutetomultilateralrules,anditmustremaincompatiblewiththem.Indeed,certainissues, suchasharmonisingbordercontrols, theapplicationofsecurityorsocialregulationsaswellascustoms transitprocedurescanonlybe regu-latedthroughtheUNmultilateralagreements.

Tosummarise,transportpolicylackingaglobalvi-sion,whichistoooftenbasedondogmainsteadoffacts,totallyhidesnotonlythefactthatmodernroadtransportisthemostenvironmentallyfriendlymodeof transportbutalso that road transport istheengineofeconomicdevelopment.IntheArabworld,however,wecanavoiddogmasandseizetheopportunitiesbyeffectivelyfacilitatingroad transport through the implementationof theUNglobal facilitation instruments tobringecono-mies closer, interconnect businesses and trans-form theMiddle East region to one of themostimportantglobal tradecentresbridging theAsianeconomieswiththewesternmarkets.

This can be accomplished by implementing theIRUslogan“workingtogetherforabetterfuture”.

MartinMarmy

ConclusionsOfTheIRUSecretaryGeneral

6 5


B i b l i o g r a p h y Internet Sources

LeagueofArabStates.www.arableagueonline.org CouncilofArabEconomicUnityhttp://www.arabinvestmap.com/ ArabUnionofLandTransport.www.auolt.org ArabUnionofRailways.www.au-railways.org ArabSeaPortsFederation.www.aspf.org.eg ArabFederationofChambersofShipping.www.arabfcs.org ArabAirCarriersorganisation.www.aaco.org ArabCivilAviationCommission.www.acac.org.ma UN-ESCWA.www.escwa.org OrganisationoftheIslamicConference.StatutefortheIslamicCivil AviationCouncil.www.oic-oci.org GulfCooperationCouncil.www.gcc-sg.org UN-EconomicCommissionforEurope.www.unece.org InternationalRoadUnion.www.iru.org ZAWYAhttp://zawya.com/ AqabaPortwww.aqabaports.com.jo ShuaibaPorthttp://www.isakwi.com/kwtinfo.html PortofDjibouti.www.dpworld-djiboutiport.com DubaiPortsWorldwww.dpworld.ae PortofAden.www.portofaden.com DubaiPortsAuthority.www.dpa.com.ae SaudiRailways.www.saudirailways.comandwww.arriyadh.com Yemen,MinistryofInteriorwebsitewww.moi.gov.ye Bahrain,MinistryofInterior,GeneralDirectorateofTrafficandLicensing websitewww.interior.gov.bhandwww.traffic.gov.bh Jordan,MinistryofInteriorwww.moi.gov.jo Qatar,MinistryofInteriorwebsitewww.moi.gov.qa KingdomofSaudiArabia,MinistryofInteriorwebsitewww.mot.gov.sa WorldBankwww.wb.org WorldHealthOrganisationwww.who.org

Other Sources

TheImpactofConstraintsFacingtheArabLandTransportSector ontheArabEconomy(originalinArabic),2007,ArabUnionofLand Transport. ConnectingtoCompete:TradeLogisticsintheGlobalEconomy,2007, TheInternationalBankforReconstructionandDevelopment/World Bank. EconomicCostofBarrierstoRoadTransport,1998,HagueConsulting Group. BlackSeaRingHighwayCaravan:HighlightsandConclusions,2007, BSEC/IRU/BSEC-URTA. BenefitsofTransitTraffictoTransitCountries:MidtermProgressReport, 2008,WorldBank. TransportSectorinGAFTAMemberCountries.Astudysubmittedasan AnnextoReport(#15)oftheGeneralUnionofChambersofCommerce, IndustryandAgricultureforArabCountriestothe81stSessionofthe EconomicandSocialCounciloftheLeague UNESCWAEconomicFeasibilityStudyforFacilitationofGoodsTrade viaSeaportsandLandofJordan,Syria,andLebanon,2003.Executive Summary. BenefitsofTransitTraffictoTransitCountries:MidtermProgressReport, 2008,WorldBank. EurostatStatistics,1997 ArabMonetaryFund,ArabUnifiedEconomicReport,2001.

List of Graphs

Graph1:DistributionofMajorArabExportsaccordingtoCommodity,2006Graph2:DistributionofMajorArabImportsaccordingtoCommodity,2006Graph3:Maincauseforallroadusers

List of Tables

Table1:TotalIntra-ArabTrade(MillionUSD)Table2:Intra-ArabImportsandExportsduring1996-2006Table3:TotalArabExternalTrade(MillionUSD)Table4:ExternalArabImportsandExportsduring1996-2006Table5:ShareofArabExternalTradeandIntra-ArabTradeinWorldTrade*Table6:WorldExportsandImportsStatisticsinSelectedYearsTable7:GDPoftheWorldandtheArabCountriesinselectedyears(MillionUSD)Table8:LengthsofRoadwaysinDifferentArabCountries.Table9:RoadMotorVehiclesinSelectedArabCountriesTable10:LogisticsPerformanceIndex(LPI)inArabStatesTable11:MajorTraitsofTransportInfrastructureinSelectedArabCountriesTable12:UNECETransportAgreementsandConventionsStatusat27January2009

This reportwas jointlycommissionedbythe InternationalRoadTransportUnion (IRU)andtheArab

UnionofLandTransport(AULT)toOlaSidani,EconomicResearcher,Lebanon.Unlessotherwisestat-

ed,theviewsexpressedinthispublicationarethoseoftheauthor.Thedesignationsemployedandthe

presentationofthematerialinthispublicationdonotimplytheexpressionofanyopinionwhatsoever

onthepartoftheInternationalRoadTransportUnion(IRU)ortheArabUnionofLandTransport(AULT)

concerningthelegalstatusofanycountry,territory,cityorareaorofitsauthorities,orconcerningde-

limitationofitsfrontiersorboundaries.Thecontentsofthisvolumedonotnecessarilyreflecttheviews

orpoliciesof the IRUorAULT,nordoescitingof tradenamesorcommercialprocessesconstitute

endorsement.Thispublicationmaybereproducedinwholeorinpartandinanyformforeducational

ornon-profitpurposeswithoutspecialpermissionfromthecopyrightholders,providedacknowledge-

ment of the source ismade. The International Road Transport Union (IRU) and the ArabUnion of

LandTransport(AULT)wouldappreciatereceivingacopyofanypublicationthatusesthisreportasa

source.

IRU Permanent Delegation to the Middle East and Region

Selenium PlazaHakki Yeten CaddesiNo.: 304 Kat: 11Besiktaş 34349 İstanbul, Turkey

Tel: +90-212-284 97 47 Fax: +90-212-284 97 57E-mail: [email protected]: www.iru.org

Arab Union of Land Transport

P.O.Box 926324Amman 11190 Jordan

Tel: +962-6-5663153 Fax: +962-6-5664232E-mail: [email protected]: www.auolt.org

middle east trade & road transport survey

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