UAE focus on key road transport issues affecting safety, international

DUBAI- Key decision makers in the road transport industry will assemble in Dubai this week for a three-day summit focusing on major issues affecting road safety and international trade.

Held under the patronage of his H.E. Dr. Abdullah Bilhaif Al-Muaimi, UAE Minister of Public Works and Chairman of the National Transport Authority (NTA), the 2014 International Road Transport Union (IRU) Academy Seminar and Accredited Transport Institute (ATI) meeting is taking place at the Hyatt Regency Dubai on 4 June.

Scheduled to be introduced in the UAE later this year, a global customs transit system which dramatically cuts the time trucks spend at borders will be high on the agenda for discussions highlighting key milestones in trade facilitation development.

Organised by the IRU in cooperation with the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE and featuring a distinguished international line-up of expert speakers, the combined event is the centrepiece in three days of debate and analysis of transport operations to improve efficiency and road safety, and ultimately boost trade.

Separate meetings will examine the ATI’s main successes and challenges in the GCC region, where it runs training programmes for transport operators, and the development of a training programme in the CIS countries.

Among the speakers at the seminar who will analyse key steps towards effective trade facilitation will be Toshihiko Osawa, Technical Officer at the World Customs Organisation, and Marc Juhel, Sector Manager in the World Bank’s Transport Division.

An estimated 150 delegates will include senior representing of the NTA, the Federal Customs Authority, the departments of transport and customs authorities in the seven Emirates, accredited training institutes, driving institutes and transport operators.

Concluding the programme on 5 June, delegates will visit Jebel Ali Port to examine the sophisticated customs procedures used by DP World’s flagship facility to ease trade.

Dr. Al-Muaimi, ATCUAE President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto will deliver welcome addresses at the start of the IRU Academy seminar on 4 June prior to a key presentation on international trade facilitation development by Ziya Altunyaldiz, Turkey’s Undersecretary of the Ministry of Customs and Trade.

Altunyaldiz will underline the effectiveness of the IRU’s TIR (International Road Transport) system which provides major benefits for transport operators and customs authorities by dramatically speeding up the international transport of goods across frontiers.

The ATCUAE, an active member of the IRU, was appointed last year by the NTA as the official authority in the UAE to issue TIR Carnets for truck operators. Having recently signed agreements with both Abu Dhabi Customs and Dubai Customs to work together to introduce the system, the ATCUAE expects to reach similar agreements with customs authorities in the other five Emirates before the end of the year.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “We are pleased to be working with the IRU to stage such an important event for the road transport industry. It will be especially interesting to get insights into the benefits the TIR system has brought for Turkey. This system can play a big part in the growth of our national economy, and reinforce the UAE’s role as a link amongst our neighboring countries.”