Speaking at a high-level UN event on the impact of COVID-19 on road transport in the Caspian Sea region, IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto called for a coordinated global and regional approach to fight the pandemic.
He underlined the importance of trade facilitation tools based on UN Conventions, such as TIR and e-CMR, in facing the challenges of the pandemic and their role in boosting trade by turning land-locked countries into land-linked ones.
The UNECE Executive Secretary Olga Algayerova stressed that full implementation of TIR and eTIR would help countries to build back better and ensure resilience against future pandemics. UN Under-Secretary-General Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu added that global coordination and TIR were both essential to keep supply chains moving during and after the pandemic.