ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, April 18. The first Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends on Sustainable Transport was held at the UN headquarters in New York under the chairmanship of Turkmenistan, TurkicWorld reports.

According to the Turkmen Foreign Ministry, the meeting was attended by the Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UN, Aksoltan Atayeva, Chairman of the Turkmendenizderyayollary Agency (Turkmen State Service of Maritime and River Transportation), Batyr Annayev, heads of transport departments, heads and representatives of diplomatic missions of the Group's member countries, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua and other high-ranking guests.

The speakers emphasized the need for developing sustainable transportation systems on a global and regional scale, as well as the need to coordinate efforts ahead of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035).

The participants agreed that the Group of Friends on Sustainable Transport would have a positive impact on the development of multilateral approaches in the transport sector.

Furthermore, the meeting included the inaugural session of the Group's Advisory Council, at which plans were announced to involve the business community in the work of the association to build effective public-private cooperation.

At the end of the meeting, a Final Declaration was adopted defining the legal framework, goals, and formats of the Group of Friends on Sustainable Transport.

The Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport is an informal community of UN member states, that was created on the initiative of Turkmenistan in 2022.

The aim of this group is to promote sustainable transport as a key factor in development and cooperation at all levels. The group also serves as a platform for sharing knowledge and best practices in this field.