Nazir Alli, President of PIARC and Young Tae Kim, Secretary General of ITF

After the 2021 edition that was held entirely online, the Summit of the International Forum of Transport (ITF) returned to Leipzig, Germany, for its 15^th edition.

The ITF Summit brought together ministerial delegations, transportation companies and organisations such as PIARC. The aim was to share points of view on the most appropriate strategies to meet the expectations of sustainable development (United Nations) and the fight against global warming (Paris Agreements), and to learn about the many innovations or initiatives that can contribute. The theme for this year’s Summit was “Transport for Inclusive Societies”.

For PIARC, our participation aimed to promote our numerous products and activities, and to feed into our own work and thinking. 

Highlights included:

• A PIARC stand, organised with our Czech colleagues, which promoted the Association, the 2023 World Road Congress and the current call for papers
• Participation of President Nazir Alli in the closed ministerial session “Meeting the road safety challenge: Halving the deaths and injuries by 2030” dedicated to the objectives of the second decade of action for road safety
• Intervention of the Secretary General Patrick Mallejacq in the “Bringing the goods to the people: efficient and sustainable delivery in and around the city” session devoted to the challenges and opportunities of freight
• Numerous exchanges with our partners, during the meeting of our Advisory Group meeting held on 17 May, as well as during bilateral meetings with CEDR, UITP, IRF, CAF, the World Bank, etc.

PIARC met with its partners to discuss emerging issues within the road transport sector as well as the latest news at each organisation. These discussions were very insightful and will feed into the preparational work of the upcoming Strategic Plan 2024-2027. This time we were honoured to discuss with AfDB, CAF, CEDR, CHTS, EIB, HVT, iRAP, IRF, POLIS Network, REAAA, TRB, UITP, UNECE and the World Bank.

Our partners remarked that the road sector should assume its rightful place in these international fora. The consultations that are underway with the Association's members to develop the next Strategic Plan will help define the appropriate place and directions for PIARC.

During his interview with the ITF, Nazir Alli detailed PIARC's measures to promote sustainable transport. He broached the coming challenges regarding sustainable development: the use of recycled materials, investing in resilient infrastructures and maintaining the connection between people thanks to roads.