Skip to main content

First Middle East ITS conference and exhibition

The first Middle East conference and exhibition on ITS, held in December 2006 in Dubai, was opened by His Excellency Eng. Abdullah Al- Mogbel, the president of ITS Arab and Deputy Minister of Transport, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The two-day conference, the theme of which was 'Shaping the Future with ITS Solutions', focused on traffic safety, congestion, security and demand management. H.E Eng. Abdullah Al-Mogbel said, "ITS Arab will play a vital role in the development of sustainable ITS deployments across t
March 12, 2013 Read time: 3 mins
The first Middle East conference and exhibition on ITS, held in December 2006 in Dubai, was opened by His Excellency Eng. Abdullah Al- Mogbel, the president of 1697 ITS Arab and Deputy Minister of Transport, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The two-day conference, the theme of which was 'Shaping the Future with ITS Solutions', focused on traffic safety, congestion, security and demand management.

H.E Eng. Abdullah Al-Mogbel said, "ITS Arab will play a vital role in the development of sustainable ITS deployments across the Middle East and North Africa in partnership with the regional and international ITS community".

Fabrizio Minarini, Head of Sector, Intelligent Car Initiative, 1690 European Commission, praised ITS Arab and expressed support from the European Commission to the conference.
Richard Barnes, London Assembly Member: "It is now an accepted policy across all the main political parties in the United Kingdom that ITS is an absolute must. The problem we have is that we are not sure what ITS means, why we are doing it, and we have not fully developed an integrated approach." Barnes shared his experience in policy development that provided thought-provoking debates and provided a political balance from a European perspective. His contribution provided the link between ITS and security, reinforcing the importance of developing and communicating clear ITS policy objectives to the wider public.

Barnes's view was echoed by the Dr Essam Sharaf, former Minister of Transport, Egypt, who suggested the use of asset management systems as an approach to communicating ITS objectives and benefits to politicians and the general public. Dr Sharaf added, "Studies from around the world have concluded that the transport infrastructure satisfies both the natural human desire to mobility, as well as being vital for economical prosperity, and therefore ranks transport infrastructure as one of the most important projects." "The key word is integration, by marrying transport infrastructure with ITS technologies we will see a completely new type of transport infrastructure that looks the same but will provide a new way of delivering mobility function." The business case for ITS benefits was reinforced by Riyadh Dabbo, Managing Director, Arab Road Safety Organisation, when he presented the shocking statistics regarding human losses, which show that within the Arab countries there are 32,000 traffic fatalities every year. Worldwide the transport fatalities total 1.2 million with 12 million injuries. "In terms of human losses, we have a 9/11 every day around the world," Dabbo said.

%$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal www.nfm-bauma.de www.nfm-bauma.de false http://www.nfm-bauma.de/ false false%>

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Blue Systems showcases Safence cable barrier system
    March 24, 2014
    Human beings will always make mistakes. Which is why Sweden has, for many years, aimed to build roads that are able to ‘forgive’ those errors. With that in mind, Sweden’s Blue Systems is showing its Safence cable barrier system, which is experiencing a new lease of life in several countries.
  • ITS World Congress – programme highlights webinar and executive sessions
    August 19, 2015
    Ertico-ITS has arranged a programme highlights webinar to give participants an overview of the sessions, speakers, events and activities organised for the ITS World Congress in Bordeaux. On Wednesday 4 September at 1300 CEST, senior Congress Programme advisor Eric Sampson and director of Congresses Didier Gorteman will walk you through this year’s exciting programme by highlighting some of the most engaging sessions and events of the week.
  • Upcoming IT-Trans conference focuses on security
    January 20, 2014
    The leading international event for IT solutions in public transport, IT-Trans International Conference and Exhibition, takes place at the Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre, Karlsruhe, Germany, 18-20 February 2014. Visitors will hear from a series of experienced international experts on a variety of topics, including Ralph Langner, a leading global expert on cyber defence. Exhibitors from 25 countries will display IT products and services for urban mobility, from e-ticketing and passenger information systems
  • Transport Canada to enforce seatbelts on highway buses
    July 17, 2018
    Seatbelts will become mandatory on all medium and large highway buses built from 1 September 2020 in Canada, following new safety rules established by Transport Canada. The government department develops transportation regulations, policies and services. Marc Garneau, minister of transport, says: “By having seatbelts on highway buses, we can help reduce injuries in severe collisions, such as rollovers, and improve safety for everyone.”