The COVID-19 pandemic underscored major limitations of freight transport operations in Asia and the Pacific. Road-centric freight systems, shortages in operational connectivity, lack of harmonisation of technical standards, coupled with the established practices of freight consolidation, lean inventories and just-in-time delivery, adversely affected the resilience of international supply chains, leading to shortages of goods and imbalances in freight delivery.
At the same time, the pandemic has underscored the critical link between the transport and logistics industry and the pandemic response, as illustrated by the efforts to keep borders open to trade throughout the crisis. The pandemic situation has also increased the momentum for further facilitation and digitalization. Many countries have begun accepting electronic documents during the pandemic; piloted new automated and digital technologies; promoted contactless processing and delivery; and many other measures.
ESCAP’s recent overview of current practices confirms that policy and technical solutions for seamless and smart connectivity along the Asian Highway Network and the Trans-Asian Railway Network already exist, and many have already been implemented by other regions or sub-sets of Asia-Pacific countries. A wide range of proven solutions can make freight transport less reliant on physical contact (contactless) and less exposed to interruptions and costs of documentary and other checks (seamless). Implementing such solutions requires adequate understanding of existing and emerging global standards and best practices applicable to smart transport solutions, while adapting them to regional and local needs and capabilities.
In this context and under the framework of the UNDA project on “Transport and trade connectivity in the age of pandemics: Contactless, seamless and collaborative UN solutions”, ESCAP is organizing a webinar on Smart Road and Rail Solutions for transport connectivity in the COVID-19 context. The webinar will start with a broad discussion among the UN and other agencies, working at a global level and complemented with the exchange of information and experience among the UN regional commissions. It will then offer a more focused regional discussion on promoting Smart Connectivity along the Asian Highway Network and the Trans-Asian Railway Network.
DAY 1: 30 November 2020
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14:00–14:15 |
Opening Session
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14:15-15:00 |
Session 1: Smart freight transport connectivity: a global perspective
Discussion |
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15:00-16:00 |
Session 2: Regional collaborative solutions for smart freight connectivity
Discussion |
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16.00- 16.15 |
Break |
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16:15–17:00 |
Session 3: Smart Connectivity along the Asian Highway Network
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DAY 2: 1 December 2020
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14:00–15:00 |
Session 3: Smart Connectivity along the Asian Highway Network (continued)
Discussion |
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15:00-16:15 |
Session 4: Smart rail solutions for the Trans-Asian Railway Network
Mr. Sandeep Raj Jain, Economic Affairs Officer, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Ms. Ekaterina Kozyreva, President, IEC International
Mr. Goran Andreev, Consultant, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Discussion |
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16:15 – 16:30 |
Break |
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16:30- 17:45 |
Session 5: Deepening digitalization of railways in ECCAP region
Mr. Sandeep Raj Jain, Economic Affairs Officer, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Mr. Harald Reisinger, Chief Information Officer, Rail Net Europe
Mr. Amit Kumar Jain, General Manager, Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) Discussion |
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17:45-18:00 |
Conclusions and recommendation |
The session will take place virtually, using Kudo, from 14.00 to 17.00 Bangkok time
(04;00 AM - 07:00 Chilean time)
The webinar will be held in English and Russian.
Briefing note
Briefing note
video
