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A declaration on setting up a transport corridor East-West, which crosses Lithuania, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan and China, was signed in Vilnius on 19 October. The document was signed by the transport ministers of Belarus, Lithuania, and China, foreign media say.

According to the transport ministers of the three countries, the transport corridor between Asia and Europe is a very important initiative that Russia and Kazakhstan may join in the future. The corridor will be an alternative to transport by sea. Besides, transportation by land will be twice as fast and a lot cheaper as transportation by sea.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Lithuania Vladimir Drazhin said: “Today we implement the agreements that the presidents of Belarus and Lithuania arrived at regarding cargo transportation from South Eastern Asia to Europe. We are pleased that Lithuania has invited Belarus as a key participant of the process and that key parts in the systematic efforts aimed at creating new routes and projects for cargo transportation between Asia and Europe are accentuated taking into account interests of our country, our tariffs, border and customs control rules”. According to the diplomat, the three countries have plans to create a Viking-type container train.

“We will receive additional cargo traffic from China and will use the transit capability in full as today only one third of the transit capacity is used,” said Belarusian Transport and Communication Minister Ivan Scherba while talking about prospects the declaration opens up to Belarus. “The traffic will contribute to using this capacity. We will be able to channel the money we will earn from transit into developing the transport infrastructure”.

The transport corridor is impossible without Belarus, said Lithuanian Transport and Communication Minister Eligijus Masiulis. Belarus is an inalienable part of the entire transportation system, it has well-developed transport infrastructure and a perfectly developed network of railways and motorways.

The transport ministers of Belarus, Lithuania and China met as part of the international forum of transport ministers of ASEM countries.