"Despite tougher competition from sea and road transport, Russian and foreign companies are working successfully despite the economic crisis to maintain and even expand freight volumes, and are achieving positive results with their new projects," Yakunin said during an address to delegates at a plenary session of the Coordinating Council on Transsiberian Transport (CCTT) in Bratislava, Slovakia. Yakunin reserved special praise in his speech for the CCTT's efforts to attract freight from Asian and European countries to the Trans-Siberian route, which experienced a 45% increase in international freight from January to August. This increase was in part aided by an agreement that encourages the Trans-Siberian Intermodal Operators of Japan (TSIOAJ), the Korean International Freight Forwarders Association (Kiffa) and the European Transsiberian Operators' Association (Geto) to transport more freight from Japan and Korea on the railway. In addition, a regular container service now operating on the China - Europe route also contributed to the increase in traffic.