Transit permits expected to help Turkey and Bulgaria

Transit permits expected to help Turkey and Bulgaria

A new liberalised transit permit regime between Bulgaria and Turkey should help businesses and develop the economy in both countries, officials and business owners say.

New liberalised traffic rules between Bulgaria and Turkey are expected to take effect in April. [Gabriel Petrescu/SETimes]

Bulgaria and Turkey agreed to proceed with steps to liberalise the transit permit regime following a dispute that led to a several-day blockade between the countries at their main border checkpoint.

"I consider that we should think about how the companies of both countries can grow and develop further instead of competing between each other," Turkey's Minister of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications Lutfi Elvan told reporters after a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Danail Papazov in February. "We care very much about Bulgaria. We accord high importance to boost our relations in the transport sector. In this sense, we have important avenues alongside road transport: maritime, rail, communication are very important areas worth co-operating in."

A new agreement, which is scheduled to be signed by the end of March, will replace the outdated agreement that took effect in 1977.

The new rules are expected to be enacted in April. According to Bulgaria's Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, the countries agreed that the administrations on both sides of the border will fully assist transport companies to facilitate their operations in both nations.

In a statement to SETimes, the ministry said a call centre will be set up at the Automobile Administration in Sofia and the General Directorate on Road Traffic Regulation in Ankara...