Ireland assumes presidency of International Transport Forum

Ireland assumed the presidency of the International Transport Forum on 23 May 2019, at the ITF’s Annual Summit in Leipzig.

The presidency is a significant honour for Ireland and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. It presents many opportunities for the wider Irish transport sector to showcase its abilities and achievements.

The International Transport Forum is an intergovernmental organisation with 60 member countries. While it is administratively integrated with the OECD it is politically autonomous and has a wider membership, ranging from Norway to Chile and from Canada to Japan.

It acts as a think tank for transport policy and produces many reports and pieces of research, on a variety of transport topics, right across the year. Its main annual meeting, which brings together Ministers and officials, industry and non-governmental organisations, takes place in May each year in Leipzig, Germany.

As a small island nation on the periphery of Europe with an open and export-led economy, Ireland is reliant on our ability to adapt and innovate. So the theme of our Presidency – “Transport Innovation for Sustainable Development” - is one that is of particular relevance to Ireland.

While innovation is of fundamental importance to the future of the transport sector; throughout the year we also plan to emphasise the second element of our theme – sustainable development. In particular, we will highlight the fundamental need to give consideration to the social and environmental, as well as the economic, impact and potential of the transport sector.

The department hopes to leverage the opportunity afforded to Ireland and Irish companies by our presidency of the International Transport Forum to celebrate our strength in innovation by showcasing the history and future of transport innovation and sustainable development in Ireland.

To this end, we plan to compile a booklet that will be distributed at the Summit—which will incorporate details of the Irish companies, products and services provided through your submissions—that will promote Ireland’s reputation as a small island with global impact and an ‘innovation economy’ that both contributes to and influences the global transport community.

For further details regarding the call, please see the attachment below. Initial submissions should provide a brief summary (max. four A4 pages) outlining how the products, services or business models you would like to highlight align with the Presidency theme of ‘Transport Innovation for Sustainable Development’. As noted above, past examples of Irish-led innovation in the wider transport sector are also welcome.

You can email Ireland's presidency mailbox at itf-ireland2020@dttas.gov.ie if you have any queries or questions.