Muscat, Nov 6 - Challenges facing the transport sector, especially the shortage of truck drivers, will be the focus of the International Road Transport Union (IRU) World Congress, which will be held in Muscat. The event, which will see 77 countries from five continents, including 25 ministerial delegates, will also discuss low level of trade between countries, environmental issues as well as ‘driverless trucks’ in the coming years. His Highness Sayyid Asaad bin Tareq al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs and Personal Representative of His Majesty the Sultan, will preside over the opening of the IRU World Congress on Wednesday.
The three-day congress, held under the theme ‘Innovation on the Move’, is organised by the IRU and hosted by Asyad in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Communications at the Oman Exhibition and Convention Centre. It was learnt around 82 per cent of people in the GCC expected driverless trucks to become reality in the next 10 years. “Oman is strategically placed at the central position of the global trade corridor and offers excellent road infrastructure. It may be noted the Sultanate recently joined the TIR,” said Boris Blanche, Managing Director, IRU. TIR is an international road transport convention.
“TIR enables goods to transit from a country of origin to a country of destination in sealed load compartments controlled by customs via a multilateral, mutually recognised system,” Blanche had earlier told Observer. This system secures customs duties and taxes, and provides a robust guarantee mechanism, reducing trade transaction costs and minimising time spent waiting at borders. The other challenges facing the sector include lack of harmonisation of technical regulations, which means trucks that are allowed in one country are not allowed in the neighbouring country. Labour, immigration and transport rules might mean the driver and/or the truck is simply not allowed to cross the border. These two issues add to the time and cost of the journey.
Vinod Nair
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