The 25th World Road Congress Seoul 2015, which wrapped up a five-day run at COEX in Seoul on Nov. 6, adopted the Seoul Ministerial Declaration calling for the understanding of the international situation of pending road transport issues and the expansion of global cooperation.
It is the first ministerial declaration that has been issued in the 100-year history of the Congress. The statement said each country agreed to share research and practices on such issues as fiscal projects and budgetary allocations of road construction and maintenance, and promised international cooperation to share knowledge and best practices, and ramp up capabilities for improving road transportation services. The participants also discussed R&D investments and the promoting of technology sharing to lay a foundation for eco-friendly vehicles and self-driving systems, it said.
Forty-eight ministers and vice ministers from 40 countries participated in the Congress, which also attracted some 1,200 policy-makers from 120 countries, including central and regional government officials, as well as roughly 3,500 Korean and foreign road transport experts.
Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Yoo Il-ho said, “True to the theme ‘Roads and Mobility Creating New Value from Transport,’ we’ll devote ourselves to making a better world via road transportation by translating the Seoul Ministerial Declaration into action.”
The participating ministers and vice ministers signed MOUs and discussed international collaboration in road transportation during bilateral meetings on the sideline of the Congress. MOLIT Minister Yoo signed MOUs and held ministerial bilateral meetings with 23 countries, including Myanmar, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Australia, Bulgaria, Colombia and South Africa, to discuss international cooperation in the road transportation sector and Korean companies’ entry into foreign markets.
MOLIT Vice Minister Kim Kyung-hwan also held meetings with minister-level officials from such countries as Japan, UAE, Vietnam, the Philippines, the United States, Sweden and Tanzania.
Under the theme “Roads and Mobility Creating New Value from Transport,” participants discussed a wide range of issues, including sustainability and new technologies. Dozens of sessions at the five-day event allowed participants to get a broad and global picture of the current situation of the road sector and its main challenges for the future. This Congress offered a unique opportunity to strengthen one’s knowledge and network, while enjoying the discovery of Korea’s state-of-the-art technologies in road transport, as well as its exceptional blend of tradition and modernity, thanks to special events leaving participants with cultural memories of Korea.
The huge event attracted road experts from member countries of Permanent International Association of Road Congresses (PIARC), assembling to take up such issues as the exchange of road management technologies and policies. The event is the biggest gathering in the areas of road construction and management technology in the world.
Launched in 1909, PIARC is one of the largest international organizations, and its congress is held every four years.
At the event, Korean road construction and management technologies were shown to the world, improving opportunities for road construction firms to line up road projects overseas.
Yoo Kyung-soo, secretary general of the Korean Organizing Committee, said this Congress achieved more than expected, not only quantitatively but also qualitatively. He added that the Congress had participants from 114 countries, numbering 2,628 in all, and he believed that the World Road Congress greatly contributed to the development of the road transport sector.
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Forty-eight ministers and vice ministers from 40 countries attend the Minister’s Session of the 25th World Road Congress Seoul 2015 at COEX in Seoul on Nov. 2.(Photos:World Road Association)
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