Turkish Minister of Transport: Road transport is vital for developing trade

International Conference on “Prospects of Trade and International Road Transport Development in the Black Sea, Central Asia and Middle East Regions”stresses importance of implementing key UN multilateral facilitation and security instruments and developing ancillary road infrastructure to develop transport links and transit in the Arab world, BSEC and ECO regions.  

Izmir – The International Conference on Prospects of Trade and International Road Transport Development in the Black Sea, Central Asian and Middle East regions, brought together today some 200 officials from Ministries in charge of Transport, Enforcement, Customs and Trade, as well as representatives from regional, national and international organisations, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Organization, all of which addressed how to effectively promote and further facilitate trade and international road transport.

Opening the conference, the Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications of Turkey, H.E. Binali Yildirim, stressed, "Road transport is vital for developing trade in the Black Sea, Central Asia and Middle East regions. It should therefore be further facilitated through collective and coordinated actions of all concerned countries and in partnership with the private sector".

At a parallel meeting, BSEC Ministers of Transport explored and coordinated the appropriate measures to develop trade itineraries along the BSEC and ECO regions and LAS countries, with a view to revitalising the ancient Silk Road through a coordinated, concerted approach. The subsequent Ministerial Declaration notably called for the effective development of the Black Sea Ring Highway trough the implementation of the IRU's MHI, and welcomed regional efforts and projects that facilitate road transport of goods in the region.

IRU Secretary General, Martin Marmy, highlighted that, "40% of total transport time is lost at borders and more than 35% of transport costs result from 'unofficial payments' at borders. In light of the strategic geographical location of the Arab world, BSEC and ECO regions, the top priority is to expand and effectively implement key UN multilateral facilitation and security instruments, such as the ADR, Harmonization and TIR Conventions, as well as MHI, the BSEC Permit and International Vehicle Weight Certificate".

Conference participants adopted a Declaration calling upon governments to facilitate trade by international road transport through the effective implementation of the key UN multilateral facilitation and security instruments. They also called for the implementation of initiatives such as the IRU Model Highway Initiative, TIR-EPD and TIR-EPD Green Lanes, the BSEC Permit and International Vehicle Weight Certificate under Annex 8 of the Harmonization Convention, in order to eliminate barriers, discriminatory measures and difficulties hindering the road transport industry from driving progress, prosperity and ultimately peace.

The Conference was jointly organised by the IRU and the Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), under the patronage of the Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications of Turkey, H.E. Binali Yildirim.

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Read the Conference Declaration

See the Conference presentations and speeches

Download high resolution pictures of the Conference

Learn more about:
                        TIR System

                        TIR-EPD Green Lanes                      

IRU Model Highway Initiative

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This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.

Visa and NetHope Partner to Help Modernize Delivery of Humanitarian Aid

New Visa Innovation Grants to help humanitarian and development organizations electronify payments to increase speed, safety and long-term impact of health, food security and poverty-alleviation programs

FOSTER CITY, Calif. & WASHINGTON, D.C., November 26, 2012 — Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), the leading global payments technology company, and NetHope, a consortium of 37 humanitarian organizations, today announced the Visa Innovation Grants program to help modernize humanitarian aid payments. Through this program, Visa is making available $500,000 in grants to humanitarian and development nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to increase the speed, security and long-term impact of aid through the innovation and adoption of electronic payments.

Every year, humanitarian, development and government organizations distribute billions of dollars of cash payments to people in need through benefit stipends, emergency relief payments and other development initiatives. Driven by the need to ensure faster delivery, greater transparency and increased security, these organizations are beginning to shift from distributing physical cash to electronic payments.

However, research by the Cash Learning Partnership has revealed significant obstacles facing organizations trying to make the transition to electronic payments, including technological, operational and attitudinal barriers. While some of these barriers are being overcome through greater knowledge-sharing and an increase in public-private partnerships, the report calls for greater investment in overcoming internal barriers and additional funding for adoption of new technologies.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to use innovation to improve the speed, security and long-term impact of humanitarian and development aid,” said Douglas Sabo, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Visa Inc. “Through the Visa Innovation Grants program, we will support organizations’ efforts to electronify their payments to help improve the lives of those they serve, and we will use the opportunity to bring a more formalized financial service – electronic payments – to the financially underserved.”

An Expert Advisory Committee of distinguished leaders with public and private sector experience will assist in the review of applications. The committee includes:

·         Nabeeha Mujeeb Kazi, Managing Director, Humanitas Global Development

·         Nick Maunder, Humanitarian and Development Consultant

·         Eric Nee, Managing Editor, Stanford Social Innovation Review

·         Sarah Rotman, Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP

“NetHope empowers humanitarian organizations to better serve the developing world through smarter use of technology,” said Dr. William Brindley, NetHope Executive Director and CEO. “The Visa Innovation Grants provide a unique opportunity for NGOs to think creatively and push the technological envelope to explore new approaches to electronify payments and transfers. We are proud to work with a leader like Visa on this effort.”

The deadline for proposals is January 9, 2013. Recipients of the Visa Innovation Grants will be announced by Visa and NetHope in early 2013. To learn more, visit: http://nethope.org/page/visa-innovation-program.

About NetHope

NetHope, Inc., which started in 2001, is a new-generation collaboration of the international community’s leading nongovernmental organizations representing over $40 billion (USD) of emergency relief, human development and conservation programs in more than 180 countries. Through member collaboration and by facilitating public-private partnerships with major technology companies, NetHope enables members to leverage their technology investments to better serve their end beneficiaries. For more information, visit www.nethope.org.

About Visa Inc.

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world’s most advanced processing networks – VisaNet – that is capable of handling more than 24,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visitwww.corporate.visa.com.

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This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.