OSCE Organizes Economic Forum on Transport

OSCE member-states have to intensify cooperation in order to develop the transport infrastructure and operations on their territory to facilitate the transport of goods and promote economic development, the 14th European economic forum on this topic heard in Vienna on Tuesday.

The event, held yesterday and today, was organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Delegations in attendance presented transport development priorities and projects so that groups of experts could consider their implementation.

In 2004, the European Union passed a legal framework for the development of its transport system until 2020. Last year a high level group of experts proposed transport sections on trans-European multimodal corridors with a view to improving connections between the EU and its neighbors, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Among the 30 projects expected to be implemented in the next 10 years are corridors X, V and the pan-European Corridor VII - Danube, which includes the Croatian river Sava.

Croatia has two sections within Corridor V -- Vb, which connects Rijeka, Zagreb and Budapest, and Vc which connects Ploce, Sarajevo, Osijek and Budapest. Croatia has built some parts of these sections with its own funds and the assistance of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Croatia has also built 34 km of highway on the Xa corridor connecting Zagreb, Maribor and Graz and is building another 20 km. This section will most likely be opened in April 2007, said the head of the Croatian delegation at the forum, Assistant Transport and Development Minister Mate Jurišić.

The French delegation commended Croatia's experience in the development of the transport infrastructure, saying it could serve as an example to the countries in the region.

The second part of the OSCE economic forum on transport will be held in Prague in the spring. (Hina)

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