Tehran, February 27, 2024 (MRUD NEWS)—During the 86th annual session of the Inland Transport Committee of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) held from 20 to 23 February 2024 in Geneva, Dariush Amani, deputy transport minister and head of Iran Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization (RMTO), emphasized on promoting diplomacy for developing international transport and the readiness to provide regional countries with transit access to the high seas within an interactive framework through various corridors in the territory of Iran.
Attending at the 86th session of the Inland Transport Committee, Amani expressed satisfaction with the active participation of the Iranian delegation in the session, and emphasized on the role of Iran as an excellent example of forming regional partnership in building a meaningful links between road transport with other sectors to address broader issues particularly the impacts of climate change.
Amani mentioned that Iran Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization's views conforms to the key role of road transport for economic development and reducing climate change impacts.
Pointing to the growth of road transport, which should lead to the initiatives to reduce negative impacts, Amani added that road transport services must be competitive for provision of low-cost and early returns solutions.
Referring to the experiences of Iran Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization (RMTO), Amani emphasized on the importance of facilitating border crossing for reducing long border queues due to uncoordinated procedures. He called for more coordination and facilitation of border crossing and using more international and standard procedures, reduction of physical inspections and prioritization of integrated shipment.
In the specialized panel on sustainable transport titled "Towards Sustainable Transport: Best Practices, Challenges and Solutions" which was organized jointly with the UNECE at the initiative of the Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan to the UN Office at Geneva, Amani pointed to the importance of this event in development of transport for the landlocked countries and added that this the summit is an opportunity to provide regional countries with the transit access to the high seas through Iran's territory.
As per the report of this session, passing through the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran promises a better transit future centered on Chabahar as one of the most concrete solutions leading to sustainable transportation in the region.
Iran Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization (RMTO) held bilateral meetings with the chairman of the Inland Transport Committee, the ambassador of Turkmenistan to the United Nations and head of the Side Event at UN Sustainable Transport Conference, the head of the UNRSC, as well as his counterparts from other countries.
Since its creation in 1947, UNECE Inland Transport Committee (ITC) has been a framework for intergovernmental cooperation and concerted action in order to facilitate international transport while improving its safety and environmental performance.
The theme of the conference in 2024 was “Taking ambitious climate action – Moving towards decarbonized inland transport by 2050”.