Minister Sabutis Heads to Leipzig for International Transport Forum

Today, Lithuanian Minister of Transport and Communications Eugenijus Sabutis is traveling to Leipzig, Germany, to participate in the Annual Summit of the International Transport Forum (ITF).

Minister Sabutis will participate in roundtable discussions and sessions aimed at strengthening international support for Ukraine’s transport recovery, developing new transport links, improving traffic safety, and advancing sustainable and smart mobility. The discussions will also focus on enhancing resilience against various threats, including GPS jamming and damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.

In Leipzig, the Lithuanian delegation is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with ITF Secretary General Kim Young Tae, German Federal Minister for Transport Patrick Schnieder, Japanese Vice-Minister for International Affairs Yoshimichi Terada, President of the International Road Transport Union (IRU) Radu Dinescu, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank Robert de Groot, and other high-level representatives from various countries and organisations.

Representatives of the Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communications will showcase the capabilities of Lithuania’s Central Project Management Agency in managing financing instruments for the restoration of Ukraine’s transport ecosystem.

In 2023–2024, during Lithuania’s presidency of the ITF, a special cooperation platform called CIG4U (Common Interest Group for Transport in Ukraine) was established by the governments of ITF member countries Canada, Lithuania, Sweden and Ukraine to help Ukraine rebuild its war-ravaged transport systems and develop new international trade links. The CIG4U coordinates support for Ukraine’s immediate transport-related material needs and provides analytical support for the long-term rebuilding of Ukraine’s transport links. 

The ITF Annual Summit, the world's largest gathering of transport ministers, is held annually in Leipzig, Germany, each May. It brings together ministers with responsibility for transport, heads of international organisations, parliamentarians and policy makers, representatives of business associations and leading researchers.

The ITF currently has 69 member countries. This year, Chile is chairing the forum, having taken over the presidency from Lithuania last year.