Letter

Executive Secretary Under-Secretary-General Ref.: 2022/OES/160/TRANS 15 July 2022 Excellency, On behalf of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), I have the honour to invite your Ministry to participate in the forthcoming ECE Working Party on Transport Trends and Economics (WP.5) which is taking place in a hybrid format, in Geneva, from 5–7 September 2022. Specifically, in relation to the work of WP.5, I would like to invite your Ministry to start using two of our newly established transport tools: the International Transport Infrastructure Observatory (ITIO) and the Sustainable Transport Connectivity Indicators (SITCIN). I would also like to use this opportunity to invite your Ministry to designate national experts to participate in two topical transport workshops and a launch event that will be held in conjunction with WP.5 (please find the draft agenda enclosed). International Transport Infrastructure Observatory (ITIO) - information available at ITIO-GIS.org In relation to ITIO I would like to kindly request you to designate one National Focal Point within your Ministry responsible for using ITIO during a test phase which will last until December 2022. ITIO provides a Geographic Information System (GIS) based platform hosting data on a large variety of transport infrastructure networks and nodes across different modes including road, rail, inland waterways, ports, intermodal terminals, logistics centers and border crossing points. ITIO was developed with funds provided by the Islamic Development Bank, it operates as a virtual marketplace for financing transport infrastructure by providing an electronic interface between Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and Governments. It has been co-developed by two United Nations regional commissions: ECE and ESCWA. On 6 September 2022, as part of the WP.5 session, a high-level inaugural meeting will be organized to present ITIO and collect initial user feedback from stakeholders. His Excellency Mr. Taavi Aas Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure of the Republic of Estonia Tallinn United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Telephone: +41 (0)22 917 6072 Email: [email protected]  Executive Secretary Page 2 Sustainable Inland Transport Connectivity Indicators (SITCIN) – information available at SITCIN.org In relation to SITCIN, I would like to kindly request you to designate one National Focal Point within your Ministry responsible for using SITCIN during a test phase which will last until December 2022. SITCIN's main objective is to provide a practical tool enabling countries to assess and/or monitor their degree and sustainability of inland transport connectivity, both domestically and bilaterally/sub-regionally as well as transport corridor- wide in terms of soft and hard infrastructure. By using SITCIN, each interested Government can evaluate: (i) The extent to which it implements the relevant United Nations legal instruments, agreements, and conventions in the field of inland transport; and (ii) The degree to which its inland transport system is inter- operable with the systems within its respective (sub-)region (inter-operable, e.g., in terms of harmonization of infrastructure standards and technical parameters, as well as in terms of coordination and integration of administrative procedures and regulatory regimes in place). Furthermore, I would like to invite your Ministry to nominate experts to actively participate in the following events that will be held in conjunction with WP.5: • On 5 September 2022, an Inter-Regional Workshop on Electrification of Urban Transport Systems: City and urban transport authorities, grid managers, energy sector stakeholders as well as spatial planners, Ministry of Transport/ Mobility experts, NGOs, and academia will be invited to exchange views on the challenges and opportunities for transport, energy and spatial planning related to increased electrification of urban transport systems. • On 5 September 2022, a high-level launch event of “LearnITC” – the Inland Transport and Trade Connectivity elearning Platform providing governmental and other stakeholders targeted training courses on the accession to, and implementation of, the United Nations Inland Transport Conventions and Legal Agreements. • On 6 September 2022: An Expert Round Table to take stock of the operational rail capacity of the Trans-Caspian and Almaty-Istanbul corridors will be held gathering senior railway and customs officials from countries on both corridors to discuss and agree on a list of priority actions to be taken in relation to harmonization of existing tariffs, services, and time schedules and the documented physical/ non-physical challenges and bottlenecks. A set of recommendations for next steps is expected to be adopted. For registration in the forthcoming WP.5 session and for access to the agenda and other meeting documentation, please visit the webpage of the WP.5 thirty-fifth session (unece.org/transport/events/wp5-working-party-transport-trends-and-economics-35th- United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Telephone: +41 (0)22 917 6072 Email: executive.secretary@un .org  Executive Secretary Page 3 session). To obtain a username and password to start using ITIO-GIS.org and SITCIN.org and/or to raise any further questions you may have, I invite you to contact Mr. Roel Janssens at the UNECE Sustainable Transport Division, who serves as Secretary to WP.5 (email: [email protected]; Tel: +41 22 917 3460). I look forward to an active participation from your Government in the above WP.5 led activities. Now, more than ever, it is important for the international transport community to cooperate on these important issues. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration. Olga Algayerova Enclosure (1) United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Telephone: +41 (0)22 917 6072 Email: executive.secretary@un .org Executive Secretary Under-Secretary-General Ref.: 2022/OES/160T/TRANS 15 July 2022 Excellency, I would be grateful if you would kindly transmit the enclosed letter to His Excellency Mr. Taavi Aas, Minister of Transport of Estonia. A copy of the letter is attached for your information. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration. Olga Algayerova Her Excellency Ms. Katrin Saarsalu-Layachi Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Mission of the Republic of Estonia to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Telephone: +41 (0)22 917 6072/1624 Email: [email protected] Saatja: Luigi Andrea Castorina <[email protected]> Saadetud: 18.07.2022 11:32 Adressaat: mission.un [MFA] <[email protected]> Koopia: MKM info <[email protected]>; Taavi Aas <[email protected]>; Konstantinos Alexopoulos <[email protected]>; Roel Janssens <[email protected]>; Maria Mostovets <[email protected]> Teema: Estonia - Letter of invitation to the Minsters of Transport to the 35th session of the Working Party on Transport Trends and Economics Dear Sir/ Madam, On behalf of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, please find attached a letter inviting representatives of your Ministry to attend the forthcoming 35th Annual Session of the Working Party on Transport Trends and Economics (WP.5), scheduled to take place, in hybrid format, in Geneva, on 5-7 September 2022. We look forward to your participation and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. Sincerely yours, Luigi CASTORINAAdministrative Assistant TIR secretariat | Sustainable Transport Division United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Building H | Palais des Nations Av. de la Paix 8-14 | CH-1211 Geneva 10 phone: &#43;41 22 917 41 57email: