DUSHANBE, 18 October 2007 - Prospects for Trans-Asian and Eurasian transit transport development in Central Asia will be the focus of a regional OSCE conference that begins next week in Dushanbe.

High-level customs and transport officials from Central Asia and the South Caucasus, officials from OSCE's Asian Partners for Co-operation Afghanistan, Japan and Mongolia, and representatives from Russian Federation, Turkey and other OSCE participating States will discuss the transit transportation challenges facing the landlocked region.

Participants include Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi, Ambassador Ivar Vikki, Head of the OSCE Centre in Almaty, Rustan Jenalinov, Secretary General of the Inter Governmental Commission Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia, and Serik Primbetov, Deputy Secretary General of the Eurasian Economic Community as well as international experts from the United Nations, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Islamic Development Bank and the World Customs Organization.

The high-level conference is expected to help strengthen political co-operation on transit transportation issues across the region. It will also contribute to a regional mid-term review of the 2003 Almaty Programme of Action, which was designed to address the special needs of landlocked developing countries.

Journalists are invited to the opening session of the conference from 09:30 to 10:30 on 23 October and to the closing session from 16:00 to 17:00 on 24 October in State Complex Kohi Vahdat. A press conference will take place following the closing session.

Journalists interested in interviewing conference speakers by phone or in person are encouraged to contact Roel Janssens or Zebo Najmiddinova.