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Bilateral meetings of the month

The Special Envoy traveled to Argentina and Latvia in October and held bilateral meetings with the following officials:
Argentina:
Mr. Carlos Alberto Pérez, Executive Director, Road Safety National Agency of Argentina (ANSV)
On 5 October, the Special Envoy met with the Executive Director of ANSV and together they exchanged updates on their activities since their last meeting in March 2017. The Special Envoy expressed his appreciation for Argentina’s commitment to advancing road safety, as demonstrated by their improvements in road safety over recent years, convening of regional and international events on the issue and membership in the Advisory Board of the UNRSTF. Mr. Pérez shared about Argentina’s improvements in data collection systems and of his Agency’s efforts towards addressing traffic management and law enforcement issues. He further shared about President Macri’s commitment to the road safety issue as reflected in his recent address to the Parliament. 
The Special Envoy shared updates on the operationalization of the UNRSTF and further emphasized the importance of accession to six UN road safety conventions, as Argentina is not a contracting party to any. In conclusion, the Special Envoy reminded of the urgency to act considering the approaching deadlines of SDG targets 3.6 and 11.2.   
Dr. Maureen Birmingham, PAHO/WHO Representative in Argentina
On 5 October, the Special Envoy met with Dr. Birmingham and provided her with an overview of his priorities as well as shared about his activities to date. He further highlighted the SDG targets 3.6 and 11.2, noting the approaching deadline to achieve the target 3.6 to halve road traffic fatalities and injuries by 2020, and calling for stronger action. The Special Envoy emphasized that road traffic injuries are also a leading cause of death among UN personnel and shared about the UN Internal Road Safety Strategy, developed by UNDSS, which is scheduled to launch early next year. 
Dr. Birmingham gave an overview of road safety situation in Argentina, emphasizing the need to improve law enforcement and expertise on data collection and management in the country. She further shared about on-going capacity-building activities, including those implemented in collaboration with Argentina’s National Road Safety Agency. 
Mr. Todt underscored the importance of strong monitoring and reporting on road traffic fatalities which impacts data quality and encouraged WHO to support government’s efforts in this regard. He further highlighted UN road safety conventions and encouraged WHO’s support should the government consider accession. 

Switzerland:

Mr. Battulga Khaltmaa, President of Mongolia

Mr. Lundeg Purevsuren, Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the UN in Geneva 

On 23 October, the Special Envoy met with the President of Mongolia and presented key priorities of his assigned mandate as well as shared about his activities to date. He emphasized stronger leadership and scaled up action, noting the approaching deadline to achieve the target 3.6 to halve road traffic fatalities and injuries by 2020. The Special Envoy shared about the establishment of the UNRSTF, encouraging the President to consider support. In conclusion, the Special Envoy reminded that Mongolia is a contracting party to two out of six UN road safety conventions and recommended accession to the remaining four. 



Latvia:

Mr. Uldis Augulis, Minister of Transport of Latvia

Following their meeting in Leipzig on the margins of the International Transport Forum in May 2018, the Special Envoy met with Minister Augulis in Riga to exchange updates on their activities. The Special Envoy shared about progress on the operationalization of UNRSTF, informed about the upcoming meeting of the Trust Fund’s governing bodies, and encouraged consideration of support. 

The Special Envoy reminded that Latvia is not a contracting party to the 1998 Agreement and the 1997 Agreement related to periodic technical inspections and encouraged accession to both, highlighting the importance of EU’s accession as a region to the 1997 Agreement.