First ever intermodal TIR operation between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the EU is launched today, with a container leaving the UAE bound for Europe under a single customs transit document and a single guarantee.
The United Arab Emirates is an important trade hub with a robust economy. TIR offers huge potential for improving transit connectivity between ports and borders with free zones and integrating them into the global logistics chain.
The UAE’s strongest trading partners are India and China – both part of the TIR network – reinforcing the potential for the transit tool to transform trade along these corridors.
Today’s intermodal TIR transport leaves the SAIF Zone in Sharjah, bound for Olomouc in the Czech Republic via Jebel Ali Port in the UAE and the port of Hamburg, Germany. The goods are travelling by land and sea using TIR, the global customs transit and guarantee system.
IRU Secretary General, Umberto de Pretto, comments “TIR’s potential for improving transit connectivity in the UAE is in the spotlight today with this first intermodal TIR transport. Once traders see the time and cost savings, TIR will become the go-to solution in the UAE and the region.”
Mohammed Jumaa Busaiba, Director General of the Federal Customs Authority adds, “Using TIR in our intermodal transport increases substantially the UAE’s global competitiveness. The system provides advantages and benefits to the economy, by simplifying the movement of national and international transport, and giving access to the global TIR network.”
