Putting transport on the Latin American investment agenda

998 International Transport forum (ITF) Secretary-General José Viegas brought a transport perspective to the 7353 OECD's 4th Conference on Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean in Lima, Peru on 7-8 July.

Themed "Bridging infrastructure gaps through smart investment", the event, co-organised by the OECD, the government of Peru and the 5982 Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), explored the needs and opportunities for investment in the region, with a view to maximising economic and development benefits generated by infrastructure investment. Viegas moderated a panel on "Investment in transport - corporate strategies and regulatory challenges" and was a participant on the concluding panel, together with Colombian transport minister Cecilia Álvarez-Correa Glen.

In Santiago, Chile, Secretary-General Viegas met with Chilean minister of transport Andres Gomez-Lobo and Vice-Minister Cristián Bowen to discuss next steps for the implementation of the planned Logistics Observatory, for which Chile and the ITF signed a letter of intent at the ITF Summit in Germany in May. Intensified co-operation in other areas such as ITF's research activities and with respect to Chilean public transport projects were also discussed. Viegas also met with board members of leading transport companies including LAN, the Chilean airline, and Ultranav (shipping and ports).