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International Transport Forum (ITF) 2018 Summit

On 24 May 2018, the Special Envoy delivered a speech at the opening plenary of the 2018 ITF Summit on Transport Safety and Security, where he introduced his vision for a safer, cleaner and smarter mobility, while calling for a rigorous action towards achieving SDG targets 3.6 and 11.2. The Special Envoy further emphasised that increased resources and funding are much-needed to tackle road safety crisis and called for contributions to the newly established UN Road Safety Trust Fund. 
 
This year’s 3-day Summit in Leipzig, Germany, brought together around 1,400 decision-makers from more than 85 countries to discuss a range of transport-related issues with the emphasis on "Transport Safety and Security".

 

After the opening session, the Special Envoy delivered a speech alongside representatives from the World Bank and the European Parliament, during the side-event organized by the World Bank’s Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF), the World Resource Institute (WRI), and the Towards Zero Foundation. The event brought together road safety experts from various international organizations and Member States to discuss the challenges and lessons learned from the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 as well as the way forward. 
On 24 May, the Special Envoy participated in a side-event organized by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfMS) which brought together government representatives, experts and other stakeholders from the region as well as representatives of the private sector, to discuss road safety situation and opportunities for regional cooperation. In his speech, the Special Envoy emphasized the high rate of fatalities in the region and called for increased efforts in line with five pillars of the Decade of Action for Road Safety. He further encouraged accession to the UN Road Safety Conventions which have proven to contribute significantly to advancing road safety. 
While in Leipzig, the Special Envoy held bilateral meetings with the following government officials:
  • Mr. Uldis Augulis, Minister of Transport Latvia
  • Mr. Guillermo Dietrich, Minister of Transport of Argentina
  • Mr. Lucian Sova, Minister of Transport of Romania
  • Mr. Ramin Guluzade, Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan
  • Mr. Tomas Eneroth, Minister of Infrastructure of Sweden
  • Mr. Joan Pedro Matos Fernandes, Minister of Environment of Portugal; Mr. Guilherme W. d’Olivieira Martins, Secretary of State for Infrastructure
  • Ms. Gloria Hutt, Minister of Transport and Telecommunications of Chile