5th IRU Euro-Asian Road Transport  Conference

Conclusions and Declaration of the
5th IRU Euro-Asian Road Transport Conference
and Ministerial Meeting 

Speech by Martin Marmy
IRU Secretary General

Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, IRU Members, Ladies, Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

Before closing this highly successful IRU Conference we should pose the question:  What conclusions can we draw from this event and take home with us to allow road transport to drive economic recovery?

The most significant conclusion of our work here in Almaty, as all the reports and speeches presented by the distinguished speakers and specialists clearly demonstrate, is that road transport has become the main engine not only of economic growth, but also the key driver of prosperity and peace not only in the region but everywhere.

In fact, as has been emphasised by a number of speakers, road transport is the sole mode of transport capable of interconnecting all businesses, whether large or small, all along the Silk Road, from Europe to Asia and to all the main world markets, due to its unique availability, flexibility and door-to-door services.

This is why it is our duty and common task to make known to the decision makers and to all Governments that if many countries are landlocked to sea transport, absolutely no country is landlocked to road transport!

Another highly relevant conclusion of the two days’ deliberations, are the major and clear results of the IRU NELTI project, which demonstrates that roughly 30 % of the road transport time is lost at borders due to inappropriate border crossing procedures. These facts are clearly confirmed. It is inappropriate procedures - rather than commonly, but wrongly perceived lack of infrastructure - which impede trade growth along the entire Eurasian landmass.

The good news is that many of the current procedural difficulties could be eliminated or significantly reduced by strictly and fully implementing the UN International Conventions on trade and road transport facilitation, such as the TIR Convention as well as the new Annex 8 of the UN Convention on the Harmonisation of Frontier Controls of Good which entered into force in May 2008.

In order to help governments to further facilitate road transport, and moreover, to meet the new requirements as per these two UN Conventions as well as the new EU NCTS TIR requirements which entered into force on 1 January 2009, the IRU has developed the following modern, web-based, facilitation tools:

The IRU’s TIR EPD allows each fleet operator, as TIR Carnet Holders, to submit the required TIR pre-declaration, free of charge, without having to turn to expensive intermediaries or brokers at the border!

In addition, still to facilitate the implementation of this new Annex 8, the IRU has also developed a Border Waiting Time Observatory (BWTO) which allows each fleet operator, free of charge, to know in advance the waiting times at a border as soon as the customs authorities enter, online, the actual waiting times at every border!

The present crisis, Ladies and Gentlemen, will soon be overcome, if Governments stop the neo protectionism and put in place in a renewed Public Private Partnership the IRU recommendation contained in its Resolution which is fully in line with the statement of the G20 Leaders, who met in London at the beginning of April.

In summary, the role of the road transport, to ensure a quick economic recovery, is even more vital than the role of the banks which have been everywhere massively financially supported by public funds. This is why there is also a vital need for every Government to further facilitate road transport by ensuring the continued credit line for the road transport operators.

Finally, allow me to call upon you to adopt the text of the IRU Almaty Declaration which has widely circulated.

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May I consider the Declaration adopted and I thank you all for your valuable input.

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To conclude let me say this: more than fifteen years ago during my maiden speech as IRU Secretary General, I said (very much like Martin Luther King said 50 years ago, on another important issue): “I have a dream”. I have a dream to see thousands of trucks transporting trade along the ancient Silk Road.

As this dream – with your political support and entrepreneurial spirit – is becoming a reality, those trucks will be carrying not only trade, but also peace. Because where trucks circulate there is trade and where there is trade there is prosperity and where there is prosperity there is an improvement in quality of life. When people are living well, we do not have wars! This is worth working for.

I count on you. You can count on me. Join me in working together for a better future.

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