On the 23-26 February 2021, the Inland Transport Committee convened its 83rd annual session. Just five years since the General Assembly adopted, in 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals, the world has experienced a global emergency of a proportion never before seen in peacetime due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and its epidemiological and socioeconomic impacts. Aiming to respond to the pandemic, the general theme of the eighty-third session of the Inland Transport Committee was “Back to a sustainable future: achieving resilient connectivity for post-COVID-19 sustained recovery and economic growth”.
The Special Envoy delivered remarks at the high-level opening segment, alongside Ms. Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary, ECE, thanking transport leaders from more than 80 Member States for gathering for the ITC annual session in an effort to find long-term solutions for the sector that will fortify it against such pandemics or other emergencies. Explaining the importance of the Ministerial Resolution to be endorsed later during the day, which helps to highlight needed regional and global solutions to counter a shared emergency, the Special Envoy encouraged stakeholders to use wisely any agreements forged during the session, which will pave the way for longer-term transformations with lasting systemic impacts.
The Special Envoy’s activities and role was commended in the ITC’s outcome document.