Reform and resilience: IRU at ITF Summit 2026

Drawing on the current conflict in the Middle East, Umberto de Pretto highlighted the frontline role played by operators in maintaining mobility and supply chains during emergencies. He called on governments to reduce barriers that undermine operational resilience, focusing on borders, bureaucracy and digitalisation.

“Let us stop talking and start acting,” he urged ministers. “Help us help you.”

More than money

A central part of IRU’s participation was its side event, “More than money: how transport sector reform can unlock investment and drive safer, fairer and greener growth”.

IRU President Radu Dinescu opened the session, highlighting the role of road transport in connecting people, goods, businesses and regions.

The panellists – Bertrand de la Borde, World Bank; Azhar Jaimurzina Ducrest, UNESCAP; Ana Maria Pinto, Inter-American Development Bank; and Olivier Tsalpatouros, Geopost – explored how reforming and formalising commercial road transport can help ensure that investment delivers broader economic and social benefits.

The debate also drew on the road transport sector reform guide developed by IRU and the World Bank with support from the SSATP Africa Transport Policy Program. The guide provides practical tools to modernise road transport services and strengthen public-private partnerships.

High-level talks

Alongside the Summit sessions, IRU held a series of bilateral meetings with governments, international financial institutions and industry partners. Discussions covered infrastructure investment, trade facilitation, resilience, workforce development and sustainable mobility.

Meetings included talks with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Confederação Nacional do Transporte, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, as well as transport ministers and delegations from China, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.

IRU also participated in discussions on disaster-resilient infrastructure, greener truck and bus technologies, innovation and project preparation in uncertain economic conditions.

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Innovation, recognition

At the Summit’s Open Stage Café – a marketplace for new ideas and projects within the exhibition area – IRU also led a session with WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization, on the latest patent and intellectual property trends driving greener buses and trucks. IRU member Bosch and the International Renewable Energy Association also spoke.

Another IRU Open Stage event featured a special presentation to ITF Secretary General Young Tae Kim to celebrate ITF’s 20th anniversary. IRU President Radu Dinescu spoke of IRU’s long partnership with ITF and presented Young Tae Kim with a special trophy to recognise his leadership in advancing the Forum’s global membership and presence.