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WHAT THE PARTICIPANTS HAD TO SAY
On the eve of the Euro-Asian Transport Conference, "New East's" correspondent, Evel Economakis, spoke with some of the participants.
CLAUDE BOUTTE, THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF RAILWAY'S EAST-WEST CHARGE DE MISSION: "I THINK A EURASIAN UNION CAN BE ORGANIZED SO WE CAN HAVE TWO CONTACTS..."
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Mr. Boutte said that his is a "professional railway organization so we are very interested in all railway developments in the world and follow the key railway corridors, and all the corridors between Europe and Asia. I think Corridor 9 is important because it runs between Finland and Greece and is very long - 3,500 kilometers - and it will be used in different sections.
The major problem is changing the railway gauge between the former USSR and Europe. Another problem concerns organizing border stations... A Eurasian Union can be organized so we can have two contacts."
Given that about 74 percent of the population on the face of the globe lives on the Eurasian continent, such a union has great potential power.
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DETLEY BOEING, EUROPEAN COMMISSION'S DIRECTORATE-GENERAL VII (TRANSPORT): "WE HOPE TO GET CLOSER TO THE IDEA OF EURO-ASIA LINKS..."
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Young and energetic, wearing bright clothing, he answered our questions with alacrity. "My hopes? We hope that we get closer to the idea of Euro-Asia links, that we look at the prospects for the future. The Russian Federation now has partner in Europe as well as in Asia."
I asked Mr. Boeing whether he felt Russia and other CIS countries would be able to achieve what the EC has done, that is, get rid of obstacles to the 'free movement of people, goods and service'. "We very much hope so," he noted, "that CIS counties get rid of borders and obstacles that separate and divide them, and paper curtains [a new, and quite accurate phrase, better than 'red-tape' - Editor]. At the same time the borders and obstacles between the EC and CIS countries must also be abolished.
We also asked his opinion about the wide Russian railway gauge. Unlike Mr. Boutte, Mr. Boeing noted that "this should not be a major problem because, as you know, in the EC we have two members - Spain and Finland - which have a broad gauge; it is not the same as the Russian gauge but it is similar and there exists in the meantime very interesting technology to overcome this obstacle. That means there is automatic change of gauge for passenger traffic between France and Spain and there are also new German developments and technologies for freight trains."
In answer to "New East's" question about what he would like to be able to do once he returns to Brussels (EC headquarters), that is, what recommendations or steps he would suggest, or whether in his view the St. Petersburg Conference is more of a learning, get-to-know experience, he said, that "of course it is a learning experience first of all because it is the first time that we have Asian countries, CIS countries, Central Asian countries and Western European countries at one conference discussing the links between these two continents. We are discussing intercontinental links. Of course, I would expect that for the future those in Brussels and in Geneva, that is, at the United Nations and the EC, that we can build up certain policies and measures that will improve the links between Europe and Asia.'
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AMARENDA KHATUA, COMMERCIAL COUNSELLOR, EMBASSY OF INDIA: "INDIA IS A TRADITIONAL TRADING PARTNER WITH RUSSIA..."
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Mr. Khatua noted that following the loss of all the Black Sea ports to Ukraine our priorities are now: 1) to see that the shipment time is shortened (as a traditional trading partner with Russia we do 2 billion dollars worth of trade with you); 2) development of an alternative transit route; 3) co-operation with Russia for the development of alternative routes, highways and ports. These are the reasons my Minister [India's Minister of Trade - Editor] is here in St. Petersburg."
Mr. Khatua noted that "the major problem for India is funds; that India is a large country and that South Asia is poor and lacking in funds. That is why it must look to develop connections with Europe and Asia. He expressed confidence that this problem would be eradicated once everybody, East and West, gets together."
This is very important given that the powerful triad of economic trading blocks - the United States, the European Union and Japan - together account for 80 percent of world -wide foreign direct investment and have restricted access to world markets. Access to these markets by developing countries have become narrower due to a rise in innovation that stresses skills needed to operate computer-assisted machinery. As a result, low labor costs have lost some of their ability to attract capital. A way out of this situation is to develop trade by improving transportation infrastructures and by interfacing them with the existing advanced systems in the triad. Then the world will truly become global.
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