Skip to main content

Summit of Ministers calls for more global co-operation in transport policy

“Policymakers are facing greater levels of uncertainty in decision making, with the speed, nature, intensity and timing of change” Ministers of Transport from around the world have called for more international co-operation to create transport systems for the needs of a changing world. “Global transformational change is a characteristic of our age”, ministers from the 54 member countries of the International Transport Forum (ITF) state in a declaration agreed today at their Annual Summit in Leipzig,
May 23, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
“Policymakers are facing greater levels of uncertainty in decision making, with the speed, nature, intensity and timing of change”
 
Ministers of Transport from around the world have called for more international co-operation to create transport systems for the needs of a changing world.
 
“Global transformational change is a characteristic of our age”, ministers from the 54 member countries of the 998 International Transport Forum (ITF) state in a declaration agreed today at their Annual Summit in Leipzig, Germany.
 
Noting the impact of megatrends like demographic change, digitalisation, shifting trade flows and climate change, the ministerial declaration states:  
 
“In this environment of transformation, policymakers are facing greater levels of uncertainty in decision making, with the speed, nature, intensity and timing of change in recent years occurring beyond what has been expected.”
 
“The reality of governing in this interconnected world requires greater emphasis on international and regional co-operation as well as information sharing, and suggests that policymakers should work together more effectively to adopt common policy responses.”
 
“While adapting to these global economic and societal phenomena, transport itself is also a driver of change, as innovation in the sector opens new frontiers. In this way, transport is itself defining new landscapes of opportunity for a greener and more inclusive economy and society.”
 
Ministers in their declaration also issued a “call for development as appropriate of international standards for implementing new technologies alongside agreed safety and privacy protocols.”
 
Ministers also adopted a renewed mandate for the International Transport Forum, which underlines the role of the ITF as a global organisation covering all transport modes. It sets as objectives for the ITF “to serve as a global platform for discussion and pre-negotiation of transport policy issues across all modes”, to “foster a deeper understanding of the role of transport in economic growth, environmental sustainability and social inclusion” and to “raise the public profile of transport policy.” It also spells out the instruments through which ITF will work towards these objectives.

The renewed mandate builds upon the Ministers’ Declaration adopted in Dublin in 2006 which established the International Transport Forum. Ministers meeting in Leipzig recalled the “significant progress made over the ITF’s initial period of development towards meeting the objectives set out in the Dublin Declaration.”

In adopting the renewed mandate, Ministers also highlighted that in view of the positive development of the organisation over the past eight years, “the ITF is well-positioned to carry out its renewed mandate, pursuing its vital role in serving the transport sector and its stakeholders across the world.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Nissan to lead human driving style AV project in the UK
    February 2, 2018
    Nissan’s European Technical Centre will lead a 30-month Autonomous Vehicle trial on UK country roads, high speed roundabouts, A-Roads and motorways with live traffic and different environmental conditions. Called the HumanDrive project, it will also emulate a natural human driving style with the intention of providing an enhanced experience for its occupants. The artificial driver model that controls perception and decision making will pilot the vehicle, and will be developed using artificial intelligence
  • Private equity boost for TRL
    March 6, 2025
    Research firm targets growth with Blandford Capital
  • IBTTA president to speak in Rome at Project EDWARD day
    September 19, 2017
    International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association president Emanuela Stocchi is to speak at the European Traffic Police Network’s (TISPOL) new Project EDWARD road safety campaign day, European Day Without A Road Death, which takes place on 21 September. Stocchi, director of International Affairs, Associazione Italiana Società Concessionarie Autostrade e Trafori (AISCAT) based in Rome, Italy, will deliver remarks to the event focusing on the role of safety as “the most deeply-held, shared commitment t
  • World Congress celebrates coming of age in Detroit
    September 7, 2014
    This is the 21st ITS World Congress and as Scott Belcher, President and CEO of ITS America, puts the event in its wider context, it’s clear that ITS has come of age