The 3rd IRU-LAS-AULT Seminar on International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) in connection with the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, opened yesterday, in Cairo, Egypt.

Cairo - The 3rd IRU-LAS-AULT Seminar on International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) in connection with the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, opened yesterday, in Cairo, Egypt, bringing together some 150 participants from Ministries in charge of transport, enforcement, customs and trade as well as numerous regional and international organisations and other national organisations.

The Seminar aimed to evaluate regional needs to improve road carriage of dangerous goods, study the UN Agreement on International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) and promote its implementation in the Arab League’s (League of Arab States - LAS) Region as a key tool for improving regional road safety.

Participants considered how to target the main cause of accidents, namely human behaviour, by developing training for professional drivers, as provided by the IRU Academy. The Seminar also reviewed the progress made since last year in joining and implementing the key UN Conventions, notably the TIR Convention and International Agreement on Harmonisation of Frontier Controls of Goods to facilitate and secure trade and international transport in the LAS region.

Opening the Seminar, LAS Deputy Secretary General for Economic Affairs, Dr. Mohammed Twaijiri, said, “it is crucial that all LAS Member States join and implement the ADR Agreement as soon as possible if we really want to improve road safety in our strategically located region, and I am confident that the upcoming meeting of the LAS Council of Ministers of Transport in Cairo this week, will invite all Member States to take necessary actions in partnership with the IRU and the AULT as soon as possible".

Organised under the patronage of the of LAS Secretary General H.E. Nabil Al Araby, the Seminar precedes the next meeting of the LAS Council of Arab Ministers of Transport to be held on 26-27 October 2011.

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See the Seminar speeches and presentations

See IRU action for Road Safety

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Press contact: Juliette Ebélé, +41-22-918 27 07, press@iru.org