FIATA (International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations) and UIC have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to reinforce the longstanding collaboration between the two organisations. The signing of the MoU took place today during the UIC General Assembly.
FIATA represents the freight forwarding industry by advocating trade facilitation policies and promoting best practices in the supply chain to speak with a unified voice in support of freight forwarding associations and logistics companies. UIC is dedicated to promoting rail transport at the global level in order to address the current challenges of mobility and sustainable development, enhance international cooperation between its members, and build a consistent railway system to achieve projects of global dimension.
The MoU facilitates close cooperation between FIATA and UIC to help them harness their respective expertise to contribute to a more efficient transport system by establishing and strengthening the relationship between the organisations and their members. The MoU also creates the framework for improving interoperability between transport modes and between countries, and contributing towards the creation of efficient, sustainable and intelligent logistic supply chains.
“Collaboration with key international organisations is crucial to the performance of today’s complex supply chains,” said FIATA Senior Vice President, Ivan Petrov. “The new MoU with UIC is a great opportunity to strengthen our cooperation and reinforce our impact on the industry.”
The identified areas for collaboration in the MoU include the engagement of all stakeholders in safety and security-related topics, digitalisation, sustainability, and Eurasian corridor developments. Both organisations are also committed to collaboration on the implementation of harmonised multimodal transport documentation, such as the FIATA Multimodal Transport Bill of Lading, and the underlying international legal framework to support this.
François Davenne, UIC Director General, recalled the long lasting collaboration between UIC and FIATA and acknowledged the opportunities offered by this MoU. “The sustainability challenge is at the heart of UIC’s work” he said “and this close partnership with FIATA will strengthen the multimodal approach required by society even further."
