The 3rd ASEM Transport Ministers’ Meeting (ASEM TMM3), themed “Development of Euro-Asia Multimodal Transport Linkages-Status Quo and Blueprints for the Future”, was held on 29-30 April 2015 in Riga, Latvia. The meeting was devoted to reinvigorating and giving new impetus to the ASEM Transport Ministers’ Meeting format and following up on the conclusions of the previous two Meetings in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2009 and Chengdu, China, in 2011.
On the 2nd day of the ASEM meeting there were two panel sessions. The first panel session was devoted to Case studies on Euro-Asia supply chain management. The second panel session, moderated by Mr. Danielsen, the Director of the NDPTL Secretariat, focused on the role of international organisations based on the following back drop: “International organisations and industry associations play an important role in the development of new transport connections. Given the highly complicated nature of long-haul cross-border supply chains, a smooth development of efficient, integrated and commercially viable Euro-Asia supply chains depends heavily on the coordinated planning and development efforts of all key stakeholders. Business and political umbrella organizations serve as crucial platforms in driving transport policies, promoting infrastructure development and access to financing, seeking to minimize red tape and ensure cross-border technical and legal compatibility, and promoting cooperation among the key stakeholders. The second panel session should, therefore, feature several key international institutional players providing their perspectives on the issues raised in the first panel and contribute their visions for the future of the emerging multi-modal Euro-Asian transport corridors”.
More information on the event and its outcome can be found below:
ASEM official site on the Event [http://www.aseminfoboard.org/events/3rd-asem-transport-ministers-meeting-asem-tmm3]
Video footage from China Daily [outdated Flash link]
Pictures – Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union on the ASEM [broken link]
Pictures – Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union on ASEM session II [broken link]