Inland transport indaba begins

THE 86th session of the Inland Transport Committee of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe opens here tomorrow.

It runs under the theme: “Taking ambitious climate action - Moving towards de-carbonised inland transport by 2050”.

The ITC is the UN platform for inland transport to help efficiently address global and regional needs in the sector.

In the last 75 years, the ITC together with its subsidiary bodies, has provided an intergovernmental forum, where UNECE and United Nations member States come together to forge tools for economic co-operation and negotiate and adopt international legal instruments on inland transport.

The legal instruments are considered indispensable for developing efficient, harmonised and integrated, safe and sustainable inland transport systems.

Government officials led by Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona are in Geneva to attend the annual session that runs until Friday.

Minister Mhona is set to address delegates during the meeting as well as conduct meetings with other senior officials from the United Nations.

Last year, Minister Mhona met the United Nations special advisor on road safety, Mr Jean Todt, on the sidelines of the 85th ITC and discussed practical ways of sharing and adopting international good practices and standards on road safety.

The two also discussed various topics, principally measures to strengthen their institutional capacity and review policy and legislative frameworks for effective road traffic management and regulation for secure and safe roads.