The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States have established new COVID-19 response and recovery guidelines for road freight transport caused by the pandemic.
ASEAN has approved guidelines to support the response and recovery of road freight transport among its Member States in the context of the pandemic.
They will provide recommendations for responses to the pandemic crisis in the three priority areas, including transport workers’ safety and training; preserving connectivity for efficient and resilient supply chains; and building back better through digital, resilient and decarbonized transport connectivity in immediate, medium and long-term framework to support the development of cross-border road freight transport in the region.
The guidelines will support Member States to develop national and regional plans that focus on resilient and sustainable road freight connectivity.
Developed with the assistance of the International Transport Forum (ITF) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the COVID-19 Recovery Guidelines for Resilient and Sustainable International Road Freight Transport Connectivity in ASEAN were approved ad-referendum by the ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting (STOM) on 11 January 2021.
“Transport connectivity is now as vital as ever. While we commend the great efforts made by our region to keep freight flowing across borders during the pandemic, we remain acutely aware that more must be done for Asia and the Pacific to stay competitive and fully recover from the crisis,” United Nations Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana said.
“The ASEAN Guidelines pave the way to a more connected, resilient and sustainable future and ESCAP sees this ambitious initiative as one of the milestones in the region’s pandemic response.”
The Guidelines are part of the initiatives under the Implementation Plan of the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework, which was adopted at the 37th ASEAN Summit in November 2020. The Guidelines are available online at: https://asean.org/storage/asean-covid-19-guidelines.pdf.