India to join the trans-Asian Railway

New Delhi, Mar 8 (UNI) The Union Cabinet today approved the signing and ratifying by India of the Inter-Governmental Agreement on Trans-Asian Railways (TAR) to help the movement of rail traffic and improve trade and tourism among the Asian countries.

Briefing reporters on the decision of the Cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi said the intergovernmental agreement will formalize the coordinated development of TAR.

He said the Inter-Governmental Agreement on TAR network was adopted at 62nd session of United Nations- Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific held in Jakarta in Indonesia on April 12, 2006. It was opened for signature on November 10 and 11, last year, during the ministerial conference on Transport of the UN-ESCAP at Busan, in Korea and is open for signature at UN headquarters, New York till December 31, 2008.

He said it has already been signed by 18 countries by November 10, last year which includes Armenia, Azerbajjan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Laos People's republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Korea, Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

The salient features of the agreement includes the contracting parties will develop the railway lines of international importance, the lines of the TAR network should conform to the guiding principles relating to technical characteristics, nothing in the Agreement would be construed as acceptance of an obligation by any party to permit the movement of goods and passenger traffic acrosss its territory, a working group shall be established to consider the implementation of the agreement, any party may withdraw from the agreement by written notification addressed to the Secretary General of the United Nations and any State at the time of depositing its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, deposit a reservation stating that it is not bound by the provisions of the article relating to conciliation, Mr Dasmunshi added.

UNI