Skip to main content

2017 International Transport Forum in Leipzig, Germany

On 31 May - 1 June, the Special Envoy attended the 2017 International Transport Forum in Leipzig, Germany and held the following bilateral meetings:
Mr. Carlos Melo, Vice Minister of Transportation of Chile

On 31 May, the Special Envoy met with Mr. Melo and presented an overview of his activities and mandate. He highlighted the importance of accession to UN Road Safety Conventions and requested Chile’s support on the draft proposal for the establishment of the UN Road Safety Fund. The Special Envoy highlighted strong laws in Chile, addressing helmet, seat belt use and child restraint, however stressed the importance of improving drink-driving and speeding laws. The Vice-Minister shared an update about the road safety situation in Chile and their plans to modify the 10-year old strategy to advance road safety in the country. The Vice Minister acknowledged that lack of law enforcement, lack of relevant and reliable data, and speed management were among key issues for Chile. The Vice Minister also shared that a new law on Child Restraint Systems has been recently passed in Chile. 

Mr. Umberto de Pretto, IRU Secretary-General

The Special Envoy presented his mandate and priorities and highlighted his recent initiatives and activities on road safety. The Special Envoy provided an update on the UN Road Safety Fund establishment and shared that the draft proposal is open for comments. They explored synergies and opportunities for collaboration. 

Mr. José Luis Irigoyen, World Bank Senior Director, Transport and ICT

The Special Envoy and Mr. José Luis Irigoyen discussed about cooperation agreements signed between the ITF, World Bank, FIA, International Road Assessment Program (iRAP) and Eurocontrol to collaborate towards the establishment of Regional Road Safety Observatories worldwide. The agreement focuses on African and Asia Pacific regions and provides institutional backing towards the establishment of the observatories. The Special Envoy also provided an update on the status of the establishment of the UN Road Safety Fund. 

Mr. Guillermo Dietrich, Minister of Transport of Argentina

The Special Envoy thanked the Minister for supporting and participating in the Regional Road Safety Workshop, which took place in Buenos Aires in March 2017.  Reiterating the points made in Buenos Aires, the Special Envoy highlighted the importance of acceding to the UN Road Safety Conventions. The Minister mentioned strategic importance of strengthening the National Road Safety Agency, enforcing speed management on highways and infrastructure development in Argentina. The Special Envoy agreed about the role of stronger law enforcement in reducing the number of fatalities on the roads. 

Mr. Yuwei Li, Transport Director, ESCAP

The Special Envoy shared about his recent travel to the ESCAP region and interest in promoting road safety in Asia, including of the technical request received from Mongolia following his visit. Mr. Li suggested cooperation for providing assistance to Mongolia as well as organizing a road safety event for Asia Pacific in 2018. According to ESCAP, key issues in the region are “drink driving” and “speeding”. The Special Envoy welcomed suggestions for organizing a regional capacity-building event.  

Ms. Helena Molin Valdés, Head of the CCAC Secretariat

On 2 June, the Special Envoy met with Ms. Valdés, presented the terms of his mandate and current priorities as well as shared about his recent activities. Together they discussed intersections between road safety and the environment as well as potential opportunities for collaboration.

H.E. Mr. Jean-Michel Despax, French Ambassador in Jamaica

On 9 May, the Special Envoy met with French Ambassador in Jamaica to discuss the road safety situation in Jamaica. The Special Envoy presented the terms of his mandate and gave an overview of his current priorities.