BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 11. The expansion of
digital transit along the Middle Corridor could make cross-border
freight transport faster, less costly and more secure, as eTIR
links countries along the route and opens the way for wider
regional integration.
The International Road Transport Union’s (IRU) TIR and Transit
System Director, Tatiana Rey-Bellet, said this in an exclusive
interview with Trend,
during which she described the implementation of eTIR across the
Middle Corridor, its practical benefits for transport operators and
businesses, and prospects for extending digital transit along the
China-Europe route.
“An important bottleneck along the Middle Corridor between China
and Europe is set to be eased with fully digital TIR operations
across the Caspian Sea between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan and on
to Uzbekistan,” she said.
According to Rey-Bellet, the development also creates
circumstances for extending digital transit to the full length of
the Middle Corridor.
“With this piece in place, the conditions are now set for the
extension of digital transit to the full length of the corridor
connecting China and Europe,” Rey-Bellet said.
The transition to eTIR is expected to eliminate the need for
paper transit documentation for goods moving through the corridor.
Rey-Bellet said this could reduce delays and opportunities for
document loss or fraud, while making border crossings faster and
more predictable for transit countries along the route.
“With eTIR, the goods moving through the corridor will no longer
require paper transit documentation. This means fewer delays, fewer
opportunities of document loss or fraud, and faster, more
predictable border crossings for all transit countries en route,”
she noted.
“The TIR system harmonises and significantly improves the
efficiency and security of trade. eTIR extends these benefits even
further,” Rey-Bellet said.
One of the main advantages of eTIR is faster border processing,
as the system replaces physical paperwork with real-time data
exchange. This allows customs authorities to process shipments
before trucks arrive at the border, potentially making crossings
faster for transport operators.
The digital format also reduces costs for operators by
eliminating the need to print, physically handle or mail paper TIR
carnets.
At the same time, eTIR is designed to strengthen the security of
transit operations through direct and secure communication between
national customs systems. According to Rey-Bellet, this helps
prevent fraud, false declarations and cargo tampering.
Another benefit is the ability to conduct transit procedures
with fewer physical interactions between drivers and customs
officers. Rey-Bellet said this contactless approach can help keep
both groups safe during transit and in emergency situations.
“Already today, South-East Asian countries are considering TIR
to build intermodal connections to Europe via the Middle Corridor
as an alternative to purely maritime routes,” she said.
According to Rey-Bellet, the potential of eTIR extends beyond
the Middle Corridor, with digital transit able to link trade
partners through combinations of road, sea and rail transport.
“Beyond the Middle Corridor, eTIR has great potential to link
trade partners through an efficient combination of road, sea and
rail transport,” she said.
Rey-Bellet said the successful use of eTIR on a multimodal route
combining road and maritime transport demonstrates that digital
transit can operate across different modes and borders within a
single framework.
“The successful use of eTIR across a multimodal route combining
road and maritime transport demonstrates that digital transit can
work seamlessly across different modes and borders under one
trusted framework,” she said.
According to her, countries can benefit from eTIR through the
eTIR National Application developed by the UN Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE), which can be used either as a standalone
solution or integrated into national systems.
“To enable countries to benefit from eTIR without delay, UNECE
has developed the eTIR National Application, a UN open-source tool
that allows customs authorities to use eTIR easily and quickly –
either as a standalone solution or integrated into national
systems,” Rey-Bellet said.
According to her, the application provides customs
administrations with a cost-free and practical way to begin
implementing digital transit procedures.
“Furthermore, with the transition to eTIR, the intermodal nature
of the TIR Convention opens new opportunities for all actors across
the supply chain,” Rey-Bellet added.
"This year, the ambition is to extend the use of eTIR to
Türkiye, Georgia and Kazakhstan, on the one hand, and to promote
greater participation of transport operators through
awareness-raising, capacity-building and practical training, on the
other," she said.
According to Rey-Bellet, the next priority for countries and
corridors where eTIR is already operational is to scale up its use
and make it standard practice.
"For eTIR operational countries and corridors, the next priority
is scaling up eTIR operations and making them standard practice,"
she said.
She observed that eTIR is increasingly linking national systems
into regional transport corridors.
"Recent developments demonstrate that eTIR is evolving from
individual national implementations towards interconnected regional
transport corridors, delivering tangible benefits in terms of
efficiency, security and transparency for international transit
operations," Rey-Bellet said.
Building on the first successful eTIR operations, IRU will
continue working with the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
to support customs administrations in expanding the operational
eTIR network, she said.
"We are glad, together with UNECE, to continue supporting
countries in selecting the implementation approach best suited to
their national circumstances, whether through the deployment of the
eTIR National Application or through direct integration of national
customs systems with the international eTIR system," Rey-Bellet
noted.
She added that the expansion of eTIR could bring operational
benefits as more countries become part of the system.
"As more countries become eTIR operational, the system is
expected to contribute to faster border crossing procedures,
improved transparency, strengthened risk management, reduced
administrative burden and enhanced competitiveness of international
transport corridors, including the Middle Corridor," Rey-Bellet
said.
“The digitalisation of transit is a critical first step. eTIR is
now available to all countries in the region and along the
corridor,” she said.
She noted that the digitalization of consignment notes is also
advancing, with countries in the region preparing for bilateral and
multilateral pilot operations involving eCMR, the global standard
for electronic consignment notes.
“Digitalisation of other transport and commercial documents –
including e-CIM/SMGS, e-permits, e-visas, etc.– should follow
suit,” she added.
Turning to the Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan eTIR pilot,
Rey-Bellet said that “pilot operations are very important to
identify and address potential technical irregularities.”
According to Rey-Bellet, the key indicators for the pilot are
the smooth operation of the system and effective information
exchange among all participants, alongside clear benefits for
customs and logistics operators.
“Key indicators are smooth operations and information exchange
among all players involved, with clear benefits for customs and
logistics operators. As a result, without costly investments, eTIR
allows customs and transport companies to significantly improve the
security and efficiency of operations,” Rey-Bellet concluded.
For reference, the International Road Transport Union (IRU) is
the World Road Transport Organisation, representing the interests
of the road transport sector and working on trade facilitation,
transit, customs procedures and the digitalisation of international
road transport.
IRU is closely associated with the TIR system, an international
customs transit system established under the UN TIR Convention. Its
electronic counterpart, eTIR, enables customs authorities to
exchange transit data electronically, including guarantee
information, while supporting advance cargo information and
real-time data exchange.
The latest development marks another step in the gradual
expansion of eTIR across Central Asia. In particular, in July 2026,
eTIR operations were carried out for the first time across the
Caspian Sea - between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, and onward to
Uzbekistan - linking all three countries through a single digital
transit procedure, while the first eTIR transport operation between
Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan had been carried out back in December
2022.
The development forms part of wider efforts to digitalise
transport along the Middle Corridor, which links China and Central
Asia across the Caspian Sea with the South Caucasus, Türkiye and
Europe. IRU has previously called for accelerated digitalisation of
transport and trade in Central Asia as transit volumes along the
region's international corridors continue to grow.
