A Regional Road Safety Summit has been hosted in Tbilisi, Georgia, by EASST and the FIA Foundation to focus political attention and commitment in the lead up to the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety.

The event, held on 29-30 April, brought together key government officials and NGO leaders from across the EASST region to facilitate discussion on national and regional priorities ahead of the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety to be hosted by the Government of Morocco in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Marrakesh in February 2025.

The Marrakesh Conference will be a key moment for road safety advocacy and an important occasion to mobilise political will and wider stakeholder engagement. The summit raised awareness and encouraged meaningful engagement with high-level representatives across EASST’s countries of operation. This will help to maximise on the opportunity and set a strategy for following up on any outcomes that result from the Ministerial – including embedding road safety interventions into a Safe System approach and linking to the wider Sustainable Development Goals.

In his opening remarks, Guram Guramishvili, Deputy Minister for Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, talked about the importance of road safety and working together across sectors and disciplines to build a safer system for all road users.

The Summit also offered a unique opportunity for regional dialogue and discussion, exploring key issues, common challenges and opportunities around road safety policy, implementation, and enforcement – particularly around school zone safety and reduced speeds - and how to connect these goals with broader sustainable transport objectives.

Participants discussed regional action, challenges, and opportunities, including contributions from Armenia, Moldova, and Georgia on the introduction and implementation of speed reduction policies for school zones at the local and national level. The Summit comes at a critical time for the region. EASST partners and officials from Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine presented on the opportunities and objectives for improving school zone road safety in their respective countries over the next 12 months. Both Azerbaijan and Tajikistan are in the process of reviewing or developing their national road safety strategies and Kyrgyz and Mongolian governments both working with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to improve national road safety.

Saul Billingsley, Executive Director of the FIA Foundation, said: “This Summit represents an important stepping-stone paving the way to the Ministerial Conference in Marrakesh next year. The only way to achieve the goal to halve road deaths by 2030 is to make sure that all countries and regions are focusing on proven measures. A number of countries in the region are making important steps forward, thanks in large part to the work of our partner EASST, and this event has crystalised how the Ministerial Conference can be an important moment for commitment.”

While in Tbilisi, the first informal introductory Technical Secretariat meeting of the new EU-funded Eastern Partnership Road Safety Observatory was held. It is hosted by the Government of Georgia and managed by ISET Policy Institute and EASST. A formal launch of the Observatory is expected later this year.

The Summit provided a space to formulate ways in which additional support can be rallied for safe and sustainable transportation at international, national and district levels. It established a good forward momentum and strengthened collaborative partnerships between EASST, FIA Foundation, and leading road safety officials and experts from across the region, paving the way for meaningful change in the lead up to the 4th Global Ministerial Conference in Morocco.