On April 16, 2024, the first Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport was held at the UN Headquarters under the chairmanship of Turkmenistan.

The meeting was attended by transport ministers, heads and representatives of diplomatic missions to the UN of the member countries of the Group, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) Mr. Li Junhua, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Road Safety Mr. Jean Todt, the Secretary General of the SLOCAT Partnership for Sustainable Low-Carbon Transport Ms. Maruxa Cardama, the President of the Turkic Investment Fund Mr. Bagdad Amreyev, Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport and Honorary Chairman of the International Road Transport Union Mr. Martin Marmi, Executive Secretary of the International Center for Transport Diplomacy (ICTD) Mr. Igor Runov, as well as invited Permanent Missions co-sponsors of UN General Assembly resolutions on sustainable transport, representatives of the business community and academia.

The Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the United Nations, Ambassador Aksoltan Ataeva welcomed the participants of the meeting and informed about the activities of the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport and the upcoming high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on sustainable transport, initiated by Turkmenistan, and called for an active dialogue on these issues.

In his speech, Mr. Batyr Annayev, Chairman of the Turkmendenizderyayollary Agency, paid special attention to the importance of building sustainable transport systems at the global and regional levels, the need to consolidate efforts in preparation for the UN Decade on Sustainable Transport (2026-2035) and the use of the platform of the upcoming High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on sustainable transport on April 17, as well as the potential of the Group of Friends to develop mutually acceptable multilateral approaches in the field of transport.

The participants of the meeting were also familiarized in detail with the main directions and practical steps in the implementation of the Program for the Development of Transport Diplomacy of the President of Turkmenistan for 2022-2025.

During the meeting, the results of the first expert meeting on sustainable transport, organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs on November 22-23, 2023 in Geneva, were emphasized, as well as the importance of the preparatory work currently carried out by the UN Economic Commissions under the coordination of UN DESA to draw up a roadmap for the implementation of the UN Decade on Sustainable Transport.

The participants of the ministerial meeting also welcomed the holding of the international celebration of World Sustainable Transport Day in Turkmenistan in November 2024.

Within the framework of the meeting, the inaugural session of the Advisory Council of the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport, formed in 2023, was held. The Chairman of the Council, Mr. Martin Marmy, voiced promising areas for the future activities of the Council and shared plans to involve the business community in joint work with the Group of Friends and build effective public-private partnerships in this regard.

During the meeting, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Road Safety, Mr. Jean Todt, officially announced his office's accession to the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport and called for the integration of the global road safety agenda into the action plans for the implementation of the UN Decade on Sustainable Transport.

In addition, the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport was briefed on the results of the work of the World Transport Diplomacy Academy (WTDA), coordinated by the International Centre for Transport Diplomacy (ICTD). During the meeting, certificates were awarded to the first winners of the training programs and courses on transport diplomacy implemented by the Academy.

Within the framework of the event, delegations noted the need to further expand the activities of the Group in order to regularly exchange views on ways to overcome challenges in the transport and logistics sector, ways to minimize regional and global barriers in this sector, and promote the initiatives of the UN member states in the field of transport development.

As a result of the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport, the Final Declaration was adopted, which creates a legal basis for the activities of the Group and defines the goals, format and methods of functioning of this association.

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FINAL DECLARATION

of the First Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends
of Sustainable Transport

1. We, representatives of the Republic of Angola, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Belarus, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Djibouti, the Republic of El Salvador, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Kingdom of Morocco, the Republic of Nicaragua, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the Republic of Türkiye, the Republic of Uzbekistan, met at the ministerial level in the United Nations Headquarters in New York in a hybrid format on 16 April 2024, in order to maintain a wide multilateral dialogue on promoting safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all in supporting sustainable economic growth, improving the social welfare of people and enhancing international cooperation and trade among countries.
2. We recall the First Meeting of the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport at the ambassadorial level in New York on 8 July 2022, which reaffirmed our adherence to the implementation of universally agreed universal and transformative Sustainable Development Goals and targets to achieve sustainable development in its three dimensions – economic, social and environmental – in a balanced and integrated manner.
3. We recognize that, since its establishment in 2022, the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport has made progress in advancing its objectives and, in this context, express our appreciation to Turkmenistan for its leadership and coordination efforts.
4. We decide on the following format and working methods of the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport:

• The Group of Friends has an informal, open-ended nature, and, accordingly, its composition shall be regularly updated, as United Nations Member States, Observers of the General Assembly of the United Nations and the United Nations entities indicate their willingness and interest in joining it;
• The Group of Friends performs its functions with the support of its Secretariat, Advisory Council and other structures that may be initiated and agreed upon by its members;
• The Group of Friends shall meet regularly, at least once or twice a year, at the ambassadorial level in New York. Extraordinary meetings can be convened to discuss specific questions, at the request of its members;
• The Group of Friends shall meet regularly at the ministerial level at a pre-agreed time and venue;
• The Group of Friends will be coordinated by two co-chairs (Turkmenistan and any member country willing to co-chair) for a term of one year and, upon completion of that term, the principle of geographical rotation will be observed for the transfer of the coordination.

1. We reaffirm the importance of engaging in dialogue to prepare and fulfil the implementation plan for the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport for the 10-year period beginning on 1 January 2026[1], in collaboration with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat, and the United Nations regional economic commissions in consultation with the United Nations Member States, specialized agencies, funds, programmes and bodies of the United Nations, as well as other intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and relevant stakeholders.
2. We express our gratitude to the Government of Turkmenistan for the excellent organization of the First Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport in New York on 16 April 2024.
3. We reiterate our invitation to those United Nations Member States, that are convinced that cooperation in the development of quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient transport and mobility infrastructure and services contributes to achieving inclusive and sustainable development at the national, subregional, regional and global levels, to consider joining the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport by endorsing this Declaration, as part of our collective efforts for a more prosperous and sustainable world in which no one is left behind.

New York, 16 April 2024

[1] Proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/78/148 of 19 December 2023.