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Announcement

High-Level Commemorative Meeting on World Sustainable Transport Day

Join the Group’s high-level commemorative meeting on 24 November 2026, 1:15–2:45 p.m., at UN Headquarters, Conference Room 8, New York.

United Nations Headquarters beside the East River, with the New York skyline at dusk
UN Headquarters, viewed from Roosevelt Island. Archival illustrative photograph by Neptuul / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Original photograph; cropped to fit the news card.
Date24 November 2026
Time · New York (EST)1:15–2:45 p.m.
VenueUN Headquarters
Conference Room 8
Co-ChairsTurkmenistan & China
Provisional agenda ↗Add to calendar ↓

The Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport will convene a High-Level Commemorative Meeting on 24 November 2026, from 1:15 to 2:45 p.m. New York time, at United Nations Headquarters, Conference Room 8. Turkmenistan and China will co-chair the meeting, with organizational coordination by the Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan.

The meeting marks World Sustainable Transport Day, the first year of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035), and the tenth anniversary of the first UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference, held in Ashgabat in 2016.

The provisional programme includes a keynote address by Mr. Navid Hanif, Assistant Secretary-General of UN DESA; the welcoming of new members; and presentation of the proposed 2027 Road Map under the theme “Connecting the Decade and the Awaza Programme of Action: Sustainable Transport for LLDCs”.

The proposed 2027 Road Map presentation will include the launch of the Group of Friends’ website. Separate presentations will introduce the Atlas of Sustainable Transport and the Sustainable Transport Award initiative of the Global Sustainable Transport Innovation and Knowledge Center. A high-level exchange will consider priorities for 2027 and connectivity for landlocked developing countries.

The expected outcome is a concise Co-Chairs’ summary. No negotiated outcome is envisaged. The programme remains provisional; please consult the latest organizer information for participation arrangements.

24 NOVEMBER 2026 · NEW YORK TIME

Provisional programme

  1. Opening remarks

    Co-Chairs: Turkmenistan and China

  2. Keynote address

    Mr. Navid Hanif, Assistant Secretary-General, UN DESA (confirmed)

  3. Welcoming new members

    Co-Chairs and countries that have joined since the previous meeting

  4. Proposed 2027 Road Map and launch of the Group of Friends’ website

    Connecting the Decade and the Awaza Programme of Action: Sustainable Transport for LLDCs — Co-Chairs; brief website launch presentation

  5. Ten years since the Ashgabat Conference

    Commemorative reflection on the First UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference

  6. Atlas of Sustainable Transport

    Brief introduction and demonstration

  7. Sustainable Transport Award

    Global Sustainable Transport Innovation and Knowledge Center (GSTIKC)

  8. High-level interventions and exchange

    Member States and UN system representatives: 2027 priorities and LLDC connectivity

  9. Concluding remarks

    Turkmenistan, Co-Chair of the Group

Based on the organizer’s provisional agenda. Programme subject to change.

Date, time and venue are confirmed in the organizer-provided documents. Concept note: draft for consultation, October 2026. Programme: provisional.