IRU - Highlights

	His Highness Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai " The key to future prosperity, not only in the United Arab Emirates but in all economies, will be to develop public-private partnerships to remove barriers to road transport, hence trade and tourism".

	His Excellency Eng. Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Government Sector Development of the UAE "This event has a vital significance to the region. The Gulf Cooperation countries are engaged in a huge effort to upgrade their infrastructures and in particular road transport. We know that the IRU has been playing a major role in ensuring efficiency, safety and standardization in road transport operations globally through various national associations and we feel that the IRU’s Dubai Congress is a wonderful opportunity to increase the interaction between the IRU and Gulf Cooperation Countries, so that the IRU’s global expertise and guidelines could assist the region in integrating global best practices into their road transport systems. There are two aspects to effective road transport management. The first is the construction of a road network that ensures that goods are transported at a fast pace with smooth movement. Secondly, it is very important to ensure that the roads are safe for motorists and pedestrians. "

	Paul Laeremans, IRU President "Over and above its high quality door-to-door transport services, today, as a modern production tool and integral part of any logistics system, road transport is the only mode of transport that permits and ensures the high added value of person-to-person relations. The development of such fruitful human relations merits our full attention, in particular in a globalised world, where economic actors are often blamed for “de-humanising” or alienating economic activities. Let us strengthen the priceless direct personal contacts which our sector is able to establish, in order to reinforce not only the image of road transport but also its efficient contribution to the current complex production and distribution process. Governments should know that the IRU and its members have always been willing and committed to work in a true spirit of public-private-partnership to provide – through road transport – the vital link to progress in all nations." More...

	Martin Voegeli Head of Global Corp. Zurich Insurance Company "Change happens! And in an increasingly globalised and ever more competitive world, change, even major change happens daily in your business! The IRU slogan captures the essence of this perfectly. Indeed, to achieve our common goals, we must continue, "Working together for a better future". More...

	Mattar Mohamed Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive director, Roads and Transport Authority, Government of Dubai, UAE "The Dubai Road Transport Authority’s strategic goals include effective transportation policies and regulations that insure the efficiency of the Dubai transport system, ensuring optimal, integrated and balanced transportation system that meets the needs of all social sectors; integrating the land use and transportation plans; developing world class transportation services and safety levels and high transportation awareness and education. Given Dubai’s set up, roads will stay as a main transportation infrastructural pillar for several years to come"
IRU Grand Prix d'honneur
	Paul Laeremans, IRU President Presentation of the IRU Grand Prix d'honneur. More...

	Stephan Porath, Germany - Grand-Prix d’Honneur "For me, it was so obvious to help in the given emergency situation. I do not think to have done something particular but I am glad to have prevented something worse from happening and to see that the young lady has recovered. A professional driver has special responsibilities towards other people. I would always act as I did in this case. More...
Opening Ceremony - Keynote Speakers
	Thomas J. Donohue, President and CEO, US Chamber of Commerce, USA, Keynote speaker (Video Message) "It is essential that we reinforce to policymakers and to the public the importance of trucking to the economy and our way of life. In the United States, trucking is the most used mode of freight transportation. In fact, 70% of the value of all freight in the U.S. is hauled by truck. In 2002, the trucking industry transported more than $9 trillion worth of shipments, weighing over 11 billion tons. However, globally, infrastructure investment is not keeping pace with the explosion in the movement of people and goods. We are working with the IRU to revitalize the land bridge between China and Europe, the historic “Silk Road” since both Europe and Asia are important investment locations for U.S. multinationals and finding a faster and cheaper transport route would be good for business. We can’t expect government to do the right thing. It’s up to us to make a strong case for why investment in roads, highways, and bridges and a balance between mobility and security are an investment in our economic future.." More...

	H.E. Mohammed Barkindo, OPEC Acting Secretary General "There is a strong mutual dependence between the oil and road transport sectors. Road transport relies entirely on oil and provides a key market for oil. There was an accelerated OPEC capacity expansions in 2005 – 2006. Several projects in 2004/2005 were delivered ahead of scheduled and thus capacity increased by 2 mb/d from end 2004 to 2006. OPEC is attending to rising product demand as well as to higher product specifications. The high taxation of oil products is negative for the road transport industry. There are important discrepancies between national taxation levels of unleaded diesel. For example, in December 2005, tax rates in a few countries were the following: USA 19%, Canada 25%, Japan 34%, France 48%, Germany 50%, Italy 44% and United Kingdom 60%. " More...
1st Round Table - Road Transport, the Link to Mobility
	The Link to the Mobility of People and Goods Pierre Latrille, Counsellor, World Trade Organisation (WTO) "Growth of trade in goods generates a more than proportional growth of transport services. For structural reasons, an increasingly large part of trade in goods will be carried by trucks (continued erosion of rail intermodal share, investment in road infrastructure in countries such as India, translating into a higher demand for trucking...). Demand for urban transport by buses and for coach tourism services is also growing especially in developing countries." More...

	Question from the Audience Janusz Lacny, Vice-President, IRU, Poland “We welcome the relative progress that has been obtained on the Doha Development Agenda during the WTO Hong Kong Conference”

	The Link to a Successful Economy - The Need for Efficient Public-Private Interface: Customs Procedures in the Emirates Ahmed Butti Ahmed, Director General of Dubai Customs, UAE "There is a vision of the country’s leaders towards future needs & challenges, this includes diversifying the economies base; advanced infrastructure, the further development of manpower, partnership with the business community, foreign investments and the implementation of simplified customs procedures & efficient risk management. In order to facilitate the movement of goods and secure, safe and legitimate trade, we have reformed our regulatory framework, policies and procedures in accordance with the world’s best practices". More...

	Question from the Audience George Hilal, TIR Treasurer SNC ICC, Syria “The TIR Convention is a vital tool to facilitate trade in the Middle Eastern Region and in on the Arabian Peninsula. Therefore, all countries in this region should join and benefit from the TIR Convention.”

	The Link to Tourism – The Need to provide efficient and high-quality Mobility for Tourists Luc Glorieux, General Director of Busworld "When coach operators serve the same destinations as low cost airlines, the coach services will always be under pressure because the coach is not as fast and not as cheap as the low cost air carriers and does not enjoy the same tax incentives. It is a struggle of life. The touring coach has to rely on flexibility and on door-to-door service wherever the customer needs to go, in order to make a difference. The new EU driving and rest time rules are not adapted to passenger transport by bus and coach and do not take into consideration the specific characteristics of coach tourism. They are a disaster for our trade."

	Question from the Audience Birger Backmann, Senior Advisor, UFTAA, Finland “Coach travel is so much more than a transfer from the airport to the hotel and a sightseeing - it is a way to experience destinations which can not be reached by air and at a low cost. Low cost airlines have given a generation of travellers the opportunity to explore new destinations - we need to hook on. There is a window of opportunity for coach tourism.”

	Question from the Audience Francesco Pacifico, Vice-President, IRU, Italy “Whereas the IRU Star Classification System for touring coaches has already been established in Europe for many years, the further potential still needs to be developed both in Europe and in other parts of the world.

	The Link to « www. … .travel » - The Need for Connectivity for Bus, Coach and Taxi Operators via Internet Ron Andruff, President & CEO, Tralliance Corporation, USA " What is “.travel”? It is a new Internet domain, which is industry-sponsored, industry-exclusive, it is composed of authenticated names, it enhances the trust factor, it is to prevent cyber-squatting and it is an e-commerce facilitator. Why is it necessary? Much of the abuse the Internet suffers from today is due in part to lack of security, identity, and control – all challenges that didn’t exist when academics were seeking to devise a text-messaging system more than two decades ago." More...

	Question from the Audience Jean-Paul Gallé, President IRU Group “IT applications are increasingly finding their way into the taxi and hire car with driver business because they provide many benefits for operators, drivers, dispatch centres and customers alike. The “.travel” domain could provide more opportunities for the sector.”
2nd Round Table - Road Transport, the Link to Effective Logistics
	The Link to all Production Systems and Supply Chains - The Need for Commercial and Intermodal Partnership Duanwei Fan - Vice-President, Sinotrans, China “The Chinese logistics market is still at the very early stage of development. The cost of logistic services is relatively high; the quality of service is low; the development is uneven between different regions; the fundamental infrastructure does not meet the needs of Chinese logistics development and the compatibility and systematic functioning of the logistic infrastructure is not yet assured. SINOTRANS is a major player in the Chinese logistic market.” More...

	Question from the Audience Theodor L. Kaplan, Secretary General, KAZATO, Kazahstan “Today, almost all freight flows from China to and from the European Union are happening by sea. At the same time, the first truck caravan which started on 27th September 2005 and successfully finished on 16th October 2005, proved the possibility of switching parts of foreign freight trade to road transport.”

	Question from the Audience Alexei Vasilkov, First Vice-President, ASMAP “There is still enormous potential for cooperation between China and Russia which needs to be developed in road freight transport.”

	Question from the Audience Rudi Colle, Director General, UIRR “It is likely to be true that road transport will continue to play a key role in global economic, social and environmental goals. But, experience in Europe shows that in continental traffic, alternatives or complements to road transport become a necessity sooner or later, essentially for capacity reasons.”

	The Link to all Public Transport Systems – The Link to all Public Transport Systems - The Need to Mitigate Congestion through Intermodal Public Transport Craig Lentzsch, President, Coach USA, Former President of Greyhound USA "Transportation systems in the United States and Europe have always seemed to be vastly different. Today, market forces are moving the two models toward each other. Each is adapting the best of the other and allowing the different modes of transportation to contribute more effectively to the transportation system. The result will be a more integrated, intermodal system in each region, with more consumer choices. This development should provide a blueprint for developing countries." More...

	Question from the Audience Yves Mannaerts, Director FBAA, Belgium “The issue of fair competition between bus and coach transport on the one hand and airlines and rail on the other, is certainly not limited to the European continent. It is a global issue.”

	Question from the Audience Vaira Gromule, Secretary General, Association of Pan European Coach Terminals, Latvia “Coach terminals facilitate the welcoming of passengers, contribute to higher quality of service, comfort and safety of passengers. There is definitively a need to establish more coach terminals.”

	The Link between the Road User Charge and the Transport Modal Split – The Need to Develop a Modern Supply Chain based on Quality and Fair Competition. Ralf Jahnke, President and CEO, TransCare, Germany "State Railways claim to increase road user charges by Euro 0,70 in order to induce a considerable modal shift between the rail and road modes. TransCare has proved that an increase of road user charges even in the order of Euro 1 would have only a marginal effect to shift goods from road to rail. TransCare demonstrates that real competition and an improvement of quality in the rail sector would lead to a three times higher modal shift than a rise in costs for the road and in addition a negative effect of a road user charge increase for the national economies could be avoided." More...

	Question from the Audience Bertil Dahlin, Director International Affairs, SA, Sweden “It is surprising to see that the railways often lobby more successfully than they really deserve given their poor service quality, diminishing share in total transport output and negative financial results.”

	Question from the Audience Willem N.C. Heeren, President, KNV Truck, the Netherlands “I really question myself wether there is an ideal solution for rail-road intermodal cooperation”

	Training is the key of Success! Bruno Dingemans, Head of IRU Academy "The IRU Academy ensures excellence in road transport training, provides exclusive International Recognition of Professional Excellence to Graduates holding IRU Academy Certificates and Diplomas delivered through an International Network of IRU Academy Accredited Training Institutes (ATIs). For more information, visit: www.iru.org/academy" More... (Powerpoint Presentation)
3rd Round Table - Road Transport, the Link to Sustainable Progress
	The Link to Financial Viability – The Need to establish the Bill Maryvonne Plessis-Fraissard, Director, The World Bank "There is a cost pressure on the transport industry since unlike payment for other infrastructure – like port, telephone, water - payment for road usage is indirect and mixed with other financing which results in no transparency and lack of fairness. The World Bank has sought to promote dedicated, reliable, transparent, participatory road network management financing through Road Fund Schemes." More...

	Question from the Audience Tofik M. Nurullayev, President ABADA, Azerbaidjan “Vehicle renewal requires a considerable investment effort for operators from countries, like my own, with an emerging economy. The World Bank could consider incentives to encourage this.”

	Question from the Audience K.M. Sydiknazarov, President AIRCUZ, Uzbekistan “There is a role for the World Bank to encourage the building of service stations along main road axes in developing countries.”

	The Link to Sustainable Profitability – The Need to achieve Stability of Fuel Prices Ken Ruffing, Former Chief Economist, OECD Environment Programme "Sustainable development requires integrating environmental, social, and economic considerations in decisions made by economic agents. Private companies engaged in road transport cannot do this all by themselves without damaging profitability – but they can promote efficient use of fuels, vehicles, and infrastructure up to certain limits where they will simultaneously reduce costs and improve environmental outcomes (eco-efficiency). Transport, road transport included, is heavily dependent on hydrocarbon-based transportation fuels today. Hydrocarbon-based transportation fuel will increasingly come from more expensive conventional and non-conventional sources as rapidly increasing demand presses on slowly growing supply." More...

	Question from the Audience Thiers Fattori Costa, President of Honour, CNT, Brazil “The production of raw material to produce bio-diesel for widespread substitution of petroleum based diesel would be difficult to achieve. But to produce bio-diesel as an additive to create sulphur free fuel would have many advantages. Bio-diesel is a good lubricant which would reduce engine wearing.”
Closing Session
	Road Transport – What will it Link in the Future? Professor C. Michael Walton, The University of Texas, USA "The ultimate vision for the future is the transformation of surface transportation into an effectively managed, well-integrated, universally available and affordable system which: provides for the safe, secure, efficient, and economical movement of people and goods enhances customer satisfaction, and is compatible with environmental concerns “Trucks of the future will have only a man, a dog and a computer on board. The computer will be there to control the truck, the man will be there to watch the gauges, and the dog will be there to bite the man if he attempts to touch anything” (Allan Kirson, Motorola)". More...

	Sebastien Schmitt, General Director of Vialtis, France "The values of Vialtis are: transparency, efficiency, initiative and availability. We aim at helping road hauliers to optimise their management and control their costs; managing a set of services to help companies save time and money and allowing hauliers to benefit from the best conditions and discounts." More...

	Paul Laeremans, IRU President Summary & Conclusion. More...

	Closing Ceremony - Ministerials Adresses. More...