Skip to main content

Argentina, Israel and Morocco join International Transport Forum

In a key development, Argentina, Israel and Morocco are joining the International Transport Forum (ITF). The decision was made at a summit of international transport ministers held in the German city of Leipzig, who unanimously approved membership of the countries. Of particular note is the appointment of Morocco, the first full ITF member country from Africa. Housed by the OECD in Paris (France), the ITF is an intergovernmental organisation that acts as a think tank for transport policy and organises the
June 4, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
In a key development, Argentina, Israel and Morocco are joining the 1102 International Transport Forum (ITF). The decision was made at a summit of international transport ministers held in the German city of Leipzig, who unanimously approved membership of the countries. Of particular note is the appointment of Morocco, the first full ITF member country from Africa.

Housed by the OECD in Paris (France), the ITF is an intergovernmental organisation that acts as a think tank for transport policy and organises the Annual Summit of transport ministers. ITF is the only global body that covers all transport modes. This decision takes the number of ITF member countries from 54 to 57.

Previously, Morocco was an observer country since the creation of ITF in 2006. “Morocco’s accession will be a plus for the Forum. It is also a positive development for Morocco,” said Mohamed Najib Boulif, Morocco’s deputy minister of Transport. “The geostrategic position of Morocco in the Mediterranean, in Africa, in the MENA region: these are all strategic assets for Morocco’s participation.”

Israel joins the ITF after becoming a member of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2010. “Israel is keen to contribute to the work of the ITF, and to be inspired by it,” said Moshe Kamhi, Director of Economic International Organisations in Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the occasion of Israel’s accession.

Argentina is the second ITF member country from South America, following the accession of Chile in 2012. Argentina has been actively involved with the ITF’s permanent working group on road safety (known as 3444 IRTAD) since 2009. It has been a leading force in establishing the Ibero-American Road Safety Observatory (OISEVI), for which IRTAD operates a Spanish-language database with road crash information.

Simon Bridges, minister of Transport of New Zealand, the 2015 ITF presidency country said, “New Zealand welcomes Morocco, Argentina and Israel to the International Transport Forum. The expanded membership of the ITF promises the opportunity to promote an increasingly global outlook for the work of the ITF.”

ITF secretary-general José Viegas also expressed his satisfaction at the accession of the three countries. “ITF is the global, all-modes transport organisation. These three new members make the ITF even more global, and they bring significant transport experience to the table,” said Viegas. “We will be working with the governments of Argentina, Israel and Morocco to ensure that they get value for their policy making out of their membership.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Award given by SCI to Colas’ head of technical development
    November 14, 2016
    John Richardson, Colas’ head of technical development for UK and the Isle of Man, has received a prestigious award from the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). The society’s Construction Materials Group presented Richardson with the George Bessey Award at its annual AGM, only the third time the award has been given since its inception in 2007.
  • IRD joins Canadian data vault project
    April 9, 2021
    IRD has joined the “Project to Enhance the Reliability and Development of Canada’s Prairie and Northern Region Transportation Network”.
  • Biggest Bauma set to break all records
    February 14, 2012
    The signs are that this year's Bauma exhibition in Munich, Germany will be a record-breaking event. Work is well underway on-site for what promises to be the largest Bauma event ever. With over 3000 exhibitors planned to cover a record breaking 550,000m², Bauma is the biggest construction equipment exhibition and for the matter, the biggest exhibition of any kind in the world.
  • PPRS: Roads are more than tarmac, they’re a global connection for people
    February 27, 2015
    The successful PPRS event in Paris enabled the sector to set the scene, to see clearly where it’s at technologically. But importantly, it also gave the sector an insight into where it has to go, said Jean-Francois Corte, secretary general of the World Road Association (PIARC), in his closing remarks. It showed that roads are not just a stand-alone national issue for individual governments, but a truly international issue, said Corte on the third and last day of the Pavement Preservation and Recycling Summit