Professor José Manuel Viegas, a Portuguese national, has been chosen as Secretary-General-elect of the International Transport Forum, an intergovernmental organisation within the OECD family that acts as a global transport policy think tank.
At their Annual Summit in Leipzig (Germany), Ministers from the 53 member countries of the Forum chose Viegas as the next chief executive of the organisation. Viegas is expected to take up office this summer, taking over from Michael Kloth of Germany, who led the Forum as Acting Secretary-General since November of last year.
At the summit, the Forum has also welcomed Chile as the first South American country to join the transport policy body. Chile is the 54th member state of the Forum. In November of last year, China had joined as 53rd member.
Chile’s Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, Mr. Pedro Pablo Errázuriz Domínguez, expressed his satisfaction at the decision: “The accession of Chile to the International Transport Forum is a very clear and strong signal of the relevance and stability of this industry in our country. But it is also an acknowledgement of the commitment permanently demonstrated by those that bring this industry to life: drivers, freighters and authorities, in order to have an industry of higher quality and more professional.
“It is also an indication of the commitment that this Government has adopted in order to strongly promote the development of transport as a way to improve the quality of life of all Chileans through a service that guarantees greater connectivity to all.”