Maritime safety deal in focus of Ashgabat meeting

By Azernews

By Gunay Hasanova

Ashgabat hosts a meeting of the authorized representatives of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan to discuss the draft protocol on the maritime safety in the Caspian Sea, the Turkmen government reported on November 18.

The agreement, as a framework document, creates a legal basis for cooperation among the competent authorities of the states in such areas as the fight against terrorism, organized crime, illegal trafficking of arms and drugs, smuggling, human trafficking and illegal migration, ensuring the safety of maritime navigation.

In addition, the document creates a ground for exchange of the relevant information.

 "Protocol on cooperation in the field of maritime security in the Caspian Sea  is associated with the important task to prevent ship accidents , protection of life and health of crew members and passengers, ensuring the safety of the vehicles themselves and the goods transported by them",  the Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary reported.

The Caspian region is one of the major geopolitical, economic, energy, transport and communication centers on the Eurasian space today.

The Caspian Sea is the biggest enclosed body of water on Earth, with enormous deposits of oil and gas as well as rich fisheries. It plays an important role in the transport corridors, along with being an important part of the international and regional projects. 

The five coastal states -- Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Iran -- signed a framework convention on the protection of the marine environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003. 

A key problem to further development in the region is the unresolved status of the Caspian Sea and the water boundaries among the five littoral states.

The legal status has remained unsolved during the past two decades, preventing development and exploitation of its disputable oil and gas fields and creating obstacles to the realization of major energy projects.

Azerbaijan proposes that the Caspian Sea must be divided into national sectors based on the “median line” principles since it is an international boundary lake.

In turn, Iran and Turkmenistan oppose Azerbaijan’s position considering that the Caspian Sea must be divided into equal parts between the pre-Caspian countries so that each country must have 20 percent of the sea.