Integrated transport for regional development
Economic growth, environmental sustainability and social inclusion...the goals of a truly integrated transport system which serves regional development were at the heart of ITF Secretary-General Young Tae Kim's opening plenary speech at the 48th APEC Transportation Working Group. The Group, meeting in Moscow, Russia, from 18 to 21 November, aims to achieve the liberalisation of transport services and works to enhance the safety of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) transport systems to encourage economic development. It also seeks to balance security, safety and environmental requirements with trade facilitation.
Following his opening plenary intervention, Mr Kim participated in the Women in Transport Taskforce on "Gender Inequality in the Global Transport Labour Force". The Task Force provided Mr Kim with an opportunity to update stakeholders on ITF's work on Gender in Transport. ITF's latest publication on the topic, entitled "Transport Connectivity: A Gender Perspective", explores how better transport connections can improve access to opportunities for women and girls. It presents challenges and shortcomings of transport connectivity from a gender perspective and proposes solutions that will contribute to more inclusive and sustainable transport for all.
The ITF team shares the results of work in two APEC experts groups: Jari Kauppila (ITF's Head of Quantitative Policy Analysis and Foresight) participates in the Intermodal and ITS Expert Group to bring insights from ITF’s work on connectivity, accessibility and mobility; in the Aviation Expert Group, Jagoda Egeland (ITF Advisor to the Secretary-General and Project Manager, Aviation and Infrastructure) takes results from the recent work on Connectivity of Remote Communities, and on Public Acceptability and Integration of Drones.
While in Moscow, Mr Kim leads ITF team participation in Russian Transport Week. Mr Kim delivered a keynote on "Transport - the basis for Eurasian Integration", bringing insights from ITF's work on how improved transport connectivity can contribute to regional, and in particular Eurasian, integration. Following the plenary, Mr Kim held a meeting on road transport issues with Russian Deputy Minister Alexey Semenov and colleagues from the Russian Ministry of Transport.