National action planning workshop in Azerbaijan

A National action-planning workshop was implemented by EU-funded regional project TRACECA Road Safety II at the Ministry of Transport of Azerbaijan between 7-9 April 2015. Over 70 stakeholders with responsibilities in or ability to influence road safety from government, private sector and NGOs attended the workshop. The main workshop consisted of an overview of international experience and successes in road safety, presentations by local experts on safety needs in Azerbaijan, general round table discussions, work in breakout groups and action plan consolidation on the final day. This was followed by in depth discussions with relevant experts on 10^th April. The objective of the event was to assist the country in development of a Priority Action Plan based on the Regional TRACECA Road Safety Action plan to improve road safety in Azerbaijan. This is aimed at eliminating impediments and obstacles preventing effective activity in road safety.

Mr Musa Panahov, Deputy Minister of Transport of Azerbaijan, who made a welcome speech of the workshop participants, expressed the commitment of the government to improve road safety by working with international organizations, across government agencies and the public sector. The need for urgent actions to improve road safety also arises from Baku hosting of the European Games in June 2015 and the Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017. The workshop participants exchanged their views on what measures should be developed and applied in Baku to ensure road safety during the games.

Ms Malena Mard, Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, during the opening session of the workshop underlined the importance of this project and EU willingness to support the government in it’s efforts to improve road safety in Azerbaijan.

Mr Akif Mustafayev, National Secretary of the IGC TRACECA in Azerbaijan, supported the previous speakers’ words and expressed his commitment to support the further effective cooperation of the project with the key road safety stakeholders in Azerbaijan.

Mr Alan Ross, Team Leader of the project stressed that road safety is a serious economic, health and social problem which deserves more attention than it has received in the past and the failure to address road safety effectively and to invest in it’s improvement is resulting in huge annual costs of around $1.7 billion each year (around 3.2% of annual GDP in Azerbaijan). Azerbaijan also loses the most productive age groups of the population (road crashes are the biggest killer of the 15-44 years age group – the most productive part of the population). Such human and economic losses inhibit Azerbaijan’s future social and economic development and urgent actions now needed to address this issue.