From 4-8 May, the EaP RSO attended the 2026 Summit of the International Transport Forum (ITF) in Leipzig, this year under the Presidency of Azerbaijan.

It was the first time that the ITF Summit has been hosted by an Eastern Partnership (EaP) country. Not only was it wonderful to explore the food and culture of Azerbaijan, there were a number of excellent and fruitful discussions on how to improve transport policy globally, as well as across the region. 

EaP RSO Deputy Head Emma MacLennan was involved in two sessions - moderating the panel on Aligning Multi-Stakeholder Engagement for Resilient Transport Investment organised by EASST, EBRD, and IRF and involving national stakeholders from Azerbaijan and Ukraine, and joining as a spokesperson for women’s leadership in transport at the Women Mobilize Women networking breakfast.

Our Communications Lead, Corrine Vibert, also spoke at the session titled Corridors that Connect: Why Rural Transport Investments are Resilience “Best Buys", organised by Fika, making reference to our latest data report on Urban-Rural Road Safety Disparities in Armenia and Moldova.

Overall, the week provided an excellent opportunity to connect with counterparts from across the EaP member countries and discuss regional priorities. Improving regional road safety, notably improving road safety data collection and analysis, is critical to achieving the Summit’s theme of Financing Resilient Transport.

EaP RSO looks forward to continuing to build on the connections and conversations started in Leipzig, and to translating the Summit's commitments into concrete action across the Eastern Partnership region. As road safety remains a key pillar of resilient and sustainable transport, we remain committed to working with our partners to strengthen data, policy, and investment in the years ahead, and we look forward to seeing what the next ITF Summit will bring.