Policy paper

ITF presidency and vice-presidencies statement 2023

Published 25 May 2023

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

Transport ministers have gathered at the 2023 Summit of the International Transport Forum (ITF) in Leipzig to discuss the important role transport plays in enabling sustainable economies.

We have held insightful discussions between political, industry, research and civil society leaders on a range of topics, including circular economies, the gender gap in the transport sector, climate change, supply chains, road safety and many more.

Against this backdrop, however, many of us continue to be gravely concerned by the ongoing aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the impacts of the war on the civilian population and transport infrastructure.

Despite 141 governments and many international organisations calling upon the Russian Federation to cease hostilities and immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine, Russia has continued its indiscriminate attacks, which are causing widespread loss of life and destruction. In this light, we recall the decision of ITF members of 4 May 2022 and reiterate our support for this decision.

Thirty-seven like-minded transport ministers signed a call to action at the 2022 summit of the ITF in which they strongly condemned the Russian Federation, aided by its allies, over its unprovoked, large-scale attacks on Ukraine. The like-minded transport ministers requested that the ITF assist Ukraine with its analytical skills and expertise in the reconstruction of transport systems and infrastructure. Following this, the ITF has been providing member countries with timely updates on the impacts of the war on transport and has delivered constructive policy advice to relevant stakeholders working on recovering domestic and global transport networks and services.

We express our gratitude to Poland who, with the support of the ITF, organised a high-level dialogue in March 2023 on Ukraine’s future transport connectivity and reconstruction. This ministerial dialogue was an important event to witness the displacement of Ukrainian people and the forced changes to international supply chains due to the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine.

We recall that in March 2023, transport ministers reconfirmed their commitment to collaborate on efforts to reconstruct Ukraine’s transport infrastructure, increase transport resilience and develop Ukraine’s connectivity regionally and globally in a joint statement at the event.

Following the appeals of attending transport ministers, the ITF will also continue to support the rebuilding of infrastructure in Ukraine and surrounding areas for enhanced connectivity with its analytical expertise.

The UK continues to stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and government and will support the 2023 to 2024 ITF presidency country, Lithuania, in its endeavours to provide further support to Ukraine.

The UK, with the support of the ITF vice-presidencies, Lithuania and Chile, started and remains committed to continuing the review of the ITF general rules, alongside other member countries. The aim is to adapt the ITF for a growing membership and to have the organisation continue to grow in strength to be able to deal with any future challenging situations. Many countries have engaged constructively and positively with the process so far and we encourage members to continue to work together over the next year to propose a new set of general rules to be put forward for approval at the earliest opportunity.

The UK looks back on a demanding, but also inspiring year and is grateful for all the support we have received from member countries and the ITF secretariat in delivering a successful UK presidency of the ITF.