IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto has addressed a major international conference on peace, international security and development organised by the Government of Turkmenistan.
Held under the auspices of the UN General Assembly’s International Year of Peace and Trust, an initiative of Turkmenistan, the conference also celebrated the 30th anniversary of the nation’s independence.
Opened by Turkmenistan’s President, the conference was attended by major international and regional organisations including the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UNICEF, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), the UN Development Program (UNDP), the UN Population fund (UNFPA) the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), TRACECA (Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia), and public officials and diplomats.
Emphasising that sustainable development is not possible without efficient road transport, Umberto de Pretto, speaking virtually, evoked the role of connectivity since ancient times as a crucial factor on the Silk Road trading routes, the land bridge between Europe and Asia.
Many land locked countries rightly identified development of transport infrastructure as a central policy priority. Along these lines, IRU and national governments have collaborated on various measures at an international level for many years, especially in building resilient and efficient transport corridors that boost trade, prosperity and ultimately peace.
All of these rely on international instruments such as TIR to facilitate export and import operations, while IRU continues to support activation of new corridors under TIR, driven by the desire to connect economies, maintain supply chains and make them more resilient.
On the initiative of the Turkmen Government, with IRU’s support, the UN General Assembly has passed three resolutions to drive sustainable transport between 2014 and 2017. Another key resolution this year was adopted, aiming to strengthen links between all transport modes for stable and reliable sustainable transport during and after the pandemic.