2. The Chair of WP.29, Mr. A. Erario (Italy) welcomed delegates to the 187th session of WP.29 and opened the meeting. He invited Mr. Li, Director of the Sustainable Transport Division to present his opening remarks.

3. Mr. Li informed WP.29 of the recent updates within the secretariat. On 16 February 2022, the United Nations Economic and Social Council, ECOSOC, adopted a special resolution for the revised terms of reference for the Inland Transport Committee (ITC). The main changes included the Global Mandate of UNECE/ITC. It also highlights the ITC as the United Nations centre for the UN Conventions and Agreements on Inland Transport including the three Agreements serviced by WP.29.

4. Mr. Li also informed the World Forum of the recent changes in the structure of the secretariat pointing out that Mr. Walter Nissler would now manage the teams that cover the secretariat roles for both WP.1 and WP.29. This aligns with the mandate of ITC to have closer collaboration between WP.1 and WP.29.

5. The Chair of WP.29 then introduced Mr M. Notsu, Director-General for Engineering Affairs in the Road Transport Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Japan, who gave a presentation on “Challenges for Transportation.” He indicated three respective priorities of his administration from the perspective of safety and the environment: for safety, (i) protecting pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users; (ii) preventing serious accidents involving the elderly; and (iii) automated driving; and for the environment, (i) establishing fuel efficiency standards; (ii) promoting and spreading next-generation vehicles; and (iii) visualizing CO2 emissions over the entire life cycle of vehicles. He looked forward to WP.29 evolving into a more attractive forum for the international harmonization of vehicle regulations, and expected the number of Contracting Parties to the 1958 and 1998 Agreements to continue to increase. He stated that Japan had been playing an important role such as Vice-Chair of AC.3 and Vice-Chair of GRVA, and will continue contributing to the further development of WP.29. Finally, he announced that Japan would hold the 27th International Technical Conference on Enhanced Safety Vehicle (ESV2023) in Yokohama, Japan in collaboration with NHTSA of the US from April 3rd to 6th next year, and called on WP.29 colleagues to attend the conference in Japan.

6. The Chair of WP.29 introduced Dr. Ji-hong Park, the Director General of Motor Vehicles Bureau at Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. He stated that it had been two years since the world had been swamped by COVID-19 virus, but the pandemic situation was getting better and allowing to meet each other face to face. Although the Korean delegation was not as big as before the pandemic, he had no doubt that more and more people would continue to gather. He added that the outbreak of COVID-19 virus had never stopped humankind from making advancement. He further stated that the automotive industries and technologies were still making progress at speed and that he truly appreciated many experts who had continued discussion on vehicle safety standards at WP.29 amidst the pandemic. He pointed out that their effort had contributed to the improvement of vehicle standards. He stated that Korea was on the same page with the international standards, and it had harmonized domestic standards with international ones for securing international compatibility. He informed that in particular, the Korean government grouped automated vehicles, electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles together, named them future vehicles, and pushed forward with various government-wide policies such as verification, establishing regulations, funding for R&D projects and creating eco-system for future vehicles. He stated that Korea would make every effort that the achievement of Korea could make a positive impact on all contracting parties of WP.29 and thus made the world safer and more convenient for all global citizens. He concluded his comment by extending his gratitude to the secretariat of WP.29, all contracting parties, international organizations and NGOs for putting efforts in creating international vehicle standards.

7. The Chair of WP.29 welcomed the newly elected Head of Mobility Unit of the European Commission’s Directorate General GROW, Mr Mark Nicklas. Mr Nicklas briefly introduced the priorities of work for the European Commission covering the full implementation of the European General Safety Regulation, the shift towards zero emission vehicles by 2035, including CO2 limits for heavy duty vehicles, further pollutant emission limits (including those for brake particulates), but also digitalization and automation. He highlighted the excellent cooperation with WP.29 as the body for establishing of technical regulations.

8. The Chair of WP.29 also welcomed representatives from Viet-Nam.