Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The role of international legal instruments in promoting passenger and freight conveyance by rail, harmonizing railway documentation and applying international best practices to enhance the transit of goods in Central Asia were among the themes addressed by the regional conference, "Strengthening Co-operation at Railway Border Crossings in Central Asia", which concluded today in the city of Balkanabat.

Organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat in partnership with the Office of the OSCE Co-ordinator for Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), the conference brought together representatives from the trade, transport and customs agencies of the Central Asian countries, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the International Rail Transport Committee (CIT).

"The conference is a part of ongoing efforts to promote trade and transport security in the region. This is especially relevant in the wake of the upcoming Kazakh Chairmanship of the OSCE, which has proposed ’promoting good governance at border crossings, improving security of land transportation and facilitating international transport by road and rail in the OSCE region’ as the theme for the upcoming Economic and Environmental Forum in 2010", said Ambassador Arsim Zekolli, Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

"The OSCE remains committed to promoting the host country’s active participation in such regional events."