The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted governments in the Western Mediterranean to take severe measures to curtail socio-economic activities over the last months which have impacted the transport and logistic sector. The impacts of the pandemic have led institutions, academia, civil society, and business representatives to reflect upon possible post-COVID-19 scenarios that could have a lasting effect on the sector. Re-inventing the transport and logistic sector by embracing the green and digital revolutions is nowadays a priority, especially in the face of the hardship generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. These transitions are key factors to spur a sustainable development as emphasised by the new EU’s Agenda for the Mediterranean and could help considerably the Western Mediterranean transport and logistics sector recover from the COVID-19 crisis, by improving its resilience and fostering its modernisation to boost growth, innovation, and competitiveness. In this line, the development of North-South multi-modal transport connections to foster regional integration and competitiveness remains also a key priority for the sector.
On the occasion of the 10th Conference of Ministers of Transport of the 5+5 Dialogue in Malta, the thematic seminar “The Western Mediterranean Transport and Logistics Sector in the post-COVID-19 Era: Seizing New Opportunities, Accelerating Transitions“, organised in the framework of the Medthink 5+5 network by the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and the Centre for Transportation Studies for the Western Mediterranean (CETMO), aims to initiate an in-depth discussion to identify the current perspectives and key opportunities for the sector to better prepare and adapt itself to the post-COVID-19 era while promoting Western Mediterranean integration and co-development.
The event that took place on 4 and 5 October 2021 online (see detailed agenda) counted with the participation of many experts from the transport and logistics sector in the Western Mediterranean, including academics, think-tankers, representatives of international organisations and the industry. The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects of the Government of Malta, Mr. Ian Borg, opened the webinar with an introductory speech. The four sessions that took place during these two days aimed to discuss post-Covid-19 trends and scenarios for the sector, the challenges of sustainable and digital transitions, and finally the implementation of the GTMO 5+5 multimodal network in the Western Mediterranean.
The thematic webinar is a continuation of the work undertaken with the Policy Study 5 “Mediterranean transport and logistics in the post-COVID-19 era: Perspectives and opportunities” recently published by the MedThink 5+5 and coordinated by the IEMed and the CETMO.
For more information, see the detailed programme.
You can find the report of the conference here.
Watch again the webinar on YouTube: