ITF Summit brings together transport ministers, public authorities, companies, researchers and other transport sector experts from around the world to discuss current transport and mobility issues. This year’s Summit focused on funding resilient transport systems at a time when the sector is simultaneously facing geopolitical, economic and climate-related pressures.
FinMobility participated in the ITF Summit for the first time, providing an excellent opportunity to follow the latest research and policy discussions in the sector, while also meeting international transport stakeholders and experts.
A key message throughout this year’s Summit was clear: transport resilience is no longer only about crisis preparedness, but increasingly about competitiveness, security, affordability and the ability of transport systems to function under continuous disruption.
Several discussions highlighted that the transport sector is currently operating from “crisis to crisis” – under the shadow of the pandemic, energy shocks, the war in Ukraine, instability in the Middle East and broader geopolitical uncertainty. At the same time, many speakers stressed that predictable and long-term policymaking is essential for enabling investments and supporting the green transition.
Key themes emerging from the discussions included:
- the need for technology-neutral and pragmatic transport policies
- the importance of parallel pathways for alternative powertrains and renewable fuels
- accelerating infrastructure investments and reducing administrative burden
- transport security, cybersecurity and supply chain resilience
- improving investment bankability and ensuring predictable market conditions
Digitalisation also emerged as a cross-cutting theme throughout many sessions. During the Summit, International Transport Forum published a new policy recommendation on the digitalisation of international freight transport connectivity. The recommendation highlights the importance of electronic transport documents, interoperable digital systems, cybersecurity and cross-border data exchange in building more efficient and resilient supply chains. It also emphasises skills development, common standards and investment in digital infrastructure. The policy recommendation can be found in the attachment.
The discussions further reinforced how closely transport policy, industrial competitiveness, energy policy and security are now interconnected. At the same time, the importance of international cooperation and multilateral fora has become increasingly evident in today’s uncertain operating environment.
FinMobility participated in the Summit as part of its active EU advocacy work and followed closely discussions related to transport resilience, alternative fuels, regulatory predictability, digitalisation and the wider investment environment for the transport sector. The Summit also highlighted the growing importance of multilateral cooperation at a time when the transport sector faces overlapping geopolitical, economic and security-related challenges.
In addition, the Summit provided an excellent opportunity to network with transport stakeholders and experts from across the sector. It was a pleasure to also exchange views on current EU transport policy issues and Finnish EU advocacy work with Jari Kauppila, Head of the ITF Secretary-General’s Office.
